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Mass Murderer: Part II, the Language of Revenge

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Mass Murderer: Part II, the Language of Revenge ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY The “Pseudocommando” Mass Murderer: Part II, The Language of Revenge James L. Knoll, IV, MD In Part I of this article, research on pseudocommandos was reviewed, and the important role that revenge fantasies play in motivating such persons to commit mass murder-suicide was discussed. Before carrying out their mass shootings, pseudocommandos may communicate some final message to the public or news media. These communications are rich sources of data about their motives and psychopathology. In Part II of this article, forensic psycholinguistic analysis is applied to clarify the primary motivations, detect the presence of mental illness, and discern important individual differences in the final communications of two recent pseudocommandos: Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech) and Jiverly Wong (Binghamton, NY). Although both men committed offenses that qualify them as pseudocommandos, their final communications reveal striking differences in their psychopathology. J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 38:263–72, 2010 Whatif...humans exceed animals in their capacity for offender would not have bothered to write or com- violence precisely because they speak? [Ref. 1, p 61] municate his “manifesto” unless it had great personal Hempel et al. were among the first to note that mass meaning. In the cases that will be examined, both murderers with a “warrior mentality” may “convey offenders took the time and effort to craft and then their central motivation in a psychological abstract, a deliver their communications to television news me- phrase or sentence yelled with great emotion at the dia, suggesting that they believed their communica- beginning of the mass murder” (Ref. 2, p 213). To tions contained important information for others. date, the actual communications of pseudocom- If we accept the working hypothesis that these mando mass murderers have received little analysis, communications are highly meaningful to the even though “the words people use...can reveal pseudocommando, we may examine them for what important aspects of their social and psychological they reveal about his motives, psychological state, worlds” (Ref. 3, p 547). A subject’s use of language and a wealth of other data. Through careful forensic may also suggest different types of mental illness and psycholinguistic analysis, it is possible to discern per- may lend clues about his past history, ethnic back- sonality variables, cognitive styles, and the presence ground, and primary motivations. of certain types of mental illness.4 Analysis may also In this article, I examine the final communications suggest important information, such as educational of two pseudocommando mass murderers in an ef- level, religious orientation, and cultural background. fort to reveal the themes that emerge and whether Psychiatrists are in a unique position to analyze writ- such communications can lead to deeper insights ten communications for different forms of mental into the psychology and motivations of the offend- illness, such as schizophrenia,5 depression,6 and ers. Such analyses begin with the assumption that the other types of emotional turmoil. For example, it has been suggested that the excessive use of pronouns is Dr. Knoll is Director of Forensic Psychiatry and Associate Professor of associated with high levels of psychological distress.7 Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and Forensic Fellow- ship Director, Central New York Psychiatric Center, Syracuse, NY. The use of metaphor or metonymy may also contain Address correspondence to: James L. Knoll, IV, MD, Division of clues about an individual’s history, ethnic back- Forensic Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, SUNY Upstate Med- 8 ical University, 750 East Adams Street, Syracuse, NY 13210. E-mail: ground, primary motivations, and level of distress. [email protected]. Data as seemingly inconsequential as an e-mail ad- 9 Disclosures of financial or other conflicts of interest: None. dress may suggest clues about personality structure. Volume 38, Number 2, 2010 263 The “Pseudocommando” Mass Murderer: Part II A psycholinguistic study of threatening persons from to criminal charges in the future. That same day, Mr. the FBI’s National Center for the Analysis of Violent Cho sent an instant message to a roommate stating, Crime (NCAVC) database found that “higher con- “I might as well kill myself or something,” and “ev- ceptual complexity” and “lower ambivalent hostility/ erybody just hates me.”15 This comment ultimately paranoia” were more strongly associated with preda- resulted in an evaluation of Mr. Cho by a social work tory violence.10 clinician. The evaluation led to an overnight stay in a Before proceeding with the analyses of the final psychiatric facility. The evaluation noted social anx- communications of Seung-Hui Cho and Jiverly iety and possible depressive symptoms, but no evi- Wong, a few points related to ethics, objectivity, and dence of psychosis was detected. limitations are in order. The forensic psychiatrist’s The following day, he was evaluated by a psychol- objectivity may be called into question if the expert ogist who found him to be mentally ill, but not an gives an opinion without first performing a personal imminent danger to himself or others. Several hours examination in cases that require one.11 To be clear, later, he was released with an appointment at a coun- this analysis does not constitute an expert opinion. seling center for later that day, December 14, 2005. Rather, it is a linguistic exercise that attempts to gain At that appointment, he denied having any suicidal a deeper understanding of these offenders’ psychol- or homicidal ideas and said that his suicidal state- ogy from materials available in the public domain. ment had been a “joke.” Although he was encouraged The psycholinguistic analyses herein should be to return for follow-up in January, no appointment viewed as working hypotheses. In addition, the anal- was scheduled. There were no further incidents re- yses are obviously limited by the lack of personal ported by the OIG investigation until the shootings evaluation, as well as other confidential collateral on April 16, 2007. It may be theorized that before sources. and after his evaluation he was having violent revenge The Principles of Medical Ethics With Annota- fantasies. This possibility is deduced primarily from tions Especially Applicable to Psychiatry, § 7.3 (i.e., several plays that he wrote for class that contained the Goldwater Rule) states that “a psychiatrist may themes of gratuitous violence and revenge.16 The share with the public his or her expertise about psy- OIG investigation reported that after Mr. Cho’s psy- 12 chiatric issues in general.” The intent of this article chiatric evaluation, his peers described him as isola- is to explore, via public-domain writings, the general tive and rarely making eye contact. He would usually psychology and motivations of Mr. Cho and Mr. not respond if spoken to or would simply give one- Wong. I refrain from offering a professional opin- word answers. His peers reported not observing any ion about specific diagnoses; rather, I offer limited evidence of confused thinking, odd behavior, or ag- and broad hypotheses about their motives and itation. He appeared mildly sad, yet he was known psychopathology. for not showing much emotion. Most of his peers said they never really knew him. Seung-Hui Cho On the day of the shootings, NBC received a pack- On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a student at age containing Mr. Cho’s 1,800-word video mani- Virginia Tech, shot to death 33 students and facul- festo on CD, plus 43 photographs. To say that Mr. ty.13 He wounded 24 more and then committed Cho had prepared for the shootings would be an suicide by shooting himself. The incident was an understatement. The preparatory stage appeared to unfathomable tragedy for the surviving college stu- reach its zenith during the crafting of his manifesto. dents, their families, and the entire country. The Vir- The process involved his taking photographs of him- ginia Office of the Inspector General (OIG) con- self dressed in several warrior outfits, while striking ducted an investigation, finding that Mr. Cho did threatening poses. Eleven of the photographs were of not significantly raise any concerns until approxi- Mr. Cho aiming handguns at the camera.17 In one mately December 2005.14 At that time, he was per- dramatic photograph, he is holding a handgun in ceived as threatening and odd by peers and faculty. each hand with his arms spread wide. He is wearing a He was seen several times by the campus police when military-style vest for carrying ammunition, and a other students complained that he had harassed large knife is strapped to his belt as he stares menac- them. On December 13, 2005, campus police told ingly into the camera. In two other photographs, Mr. him that his continuing acts of harassment could lead Cho appears to be mimicking suicidal behavior. In 264 The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Knoll one, he points a handgun at his right temple. In the that pseudocommandos who were captured alive re- other, he holds a large hunting knife to the left side of ferred to other infamous cases of mass murder. his neck. Strikingly, Mr. Cho realized he had other options. Unfortunately, he had become too deeply invested in Mr. Cho’s Communications his revenge romance: The following is an analysis of select revelatory I didn’t have to do it. I could have left. I could have fled. But 17 excerpts, as space limitations do not permit commen- now I am no longer running. tary on the manifesto in its entirety.18,19 Let us begin That he states with finality that he is “no longer by considering his admonishment: running” may be viewed as evidence that he had not You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have only reached the obliterative state of mind, but also avoided today.17 that he was no longer able to defend against the aver- The phrase “chances and ways” suggests that until sive self-awareness he had been running from for so the day of the shootings, he viewed himself as keep- long.
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