Insight and remorse
The California board of prison terms, the people who grant parole dates, like to estimate whether a convict have reached some form of insight into their crime and are remorseful for it as well. Insight and remorse–the road to freedom. Insight, I think this must involve whether or not a criminal understands that he or she has broken a law and that punishment must follow.
Hard core career type criminals, the socio or psychopaths among us, apparently have little or no conscience and break laws and hurt people with little or no concern. All that counts is the satisfying of needs and desires. This is likely accurate to some degree. Trouble is the real pro, the hardened crook, is an excellent liar and persuader. I know, I have fallen victim more than once. These folks are charmers, highly skilled at deception, and are devious almost beyond detection.
The career type criminal recognize only two types of people: civilians and people like themselves. People like me, are to be taken advantage of, used. We are the suckers who have stupidly accumulated possessions that can be, ought to be, appropriated. How is it that such a person has anything approaching genuine insight? It can only be feigned.
Cons have their informal schools on how to beat parole boards. They know what the panels want to hear. Stock phrases, “I broke the law, I did the wrong thing, and I am sorry for it.” The lies are well rehearsed.
That brings us to remorse. In Shawshank Redemption, Morgan Freeman’s character, Red, tells a parole board, “I think about my crime every day.” He is granted parole, and rightfully so. Was he having genuine remorse?
Most felons are remorseful; they have remorse over having lost their freedom, being away from their families, being stuck with people like themselves (who are not the best company), and a host of other easily understood reasons. How is remorse measured–probably it is impossible to say? Who could judge such a thing? Maybe remorse has to do with breaking the law, taking something from someone that you had no right to, like a life. Is it something that is felt or understood? How about a combination of the two?
Parole boards hear words, observe body language, spot something in the look on a face–arbitrary at best and the prize goes to the best actor. Maybe actions, achievements, objective statistics, anonymous evaluations from others–maybe there is something here that might take the pressure off both convict and parole board member. Insight and remorse–who but God could possibly know.