The Panel of Interdisciplinary Talks (PIT) held an open discussion between three professors and Hamline students on the topic of crime and the motivations behind it. Professors Ryan Lecount of the sociology department, Joe Swenson of the philosophy department and Jillian Peterson of the criminal justice department were involved last Friday night in PIT’s discussion.

At the start of the discussion, each of the professors spoke about why they think people commit crime.

LeCount talked about the fundamental attribution error, which places responsibility for actions on one’s personality, and how we often judge people from racial, ethnic or cultural groups other than our own for committing crime being completely their fault.

With a philosophical perspective, Swenson spoke about the ethical theory and how morality and legality do not always over-lap; sometimes people may have to break the law for the greater good of community. In comparison, he spoke about how certain things seem inherently wrong such as slavery in the past, even though it was not prohibited by the law.

Peterson, who has been an investigator of defenders who have committed and are facing the death penalty, deals with how one gets to a point of committing murder. In Peterson’s experience, every person she knew facing the death penalty had a horrific childhood from age 0 to 5.

“Crime starts the moment you are born or before you are born.” said Peterson.

According to Peterson, genes, hormones, race, class, gender and employment are all factors that contribute to criminal intent. She also explains that people usually change their peer groups once they start settling down, getting married and obtaining long term jobs.

“Crime almost completely drops off at age 35.” said Peterson.

After each of the professors gave their insights, the floor was opened to students for any questions.

For one question, professors were asked to give their views on the Nature vs. Nurture conflict. Peterson said it is impossible to separate genes from the environment because they both interact with each other. Swenson said people create meaning in the world through social structure, and LeCount agreed that both matter.

Victimization was then discussed. Peterson said that meaning-making of an offender’s acts and why the offender committed the crime helps the victim in the healing process, while LeCount recommended a TV show called“American Crime”, which is based on criminality and victimization in a social setting.

Furthermore, questions on whether socioeconomic status affects crime were raised. Peterson responded by saying that drug use is the same in the suburbs and other neighborhoods. Whether one is caught committing a crime or not depends on where the crime is committed.

In addition, the professors talked about how the role media and pop culture plays on crime rates depends on whether we are being exposed to it voluntarily or involuntarily. Media exposure when voluntary affects your decisions the most. The case of two elementary girls killing their friend in Wisconsin on June 5, 2014 is a great example of this.

In the end, there is no single cause or explanation of why people commit crime.

The PIT will be offering a voting system for the topic of such meetings. Follow them on facebook, facebook.com/ThePitHU.