Interview with Bob Furu
Bob Furu is an MSU sociology major with a criminal justice focus. He went to the FBI academy and has held several jobs including: police officer, parole officer, and polygraph expert. I conducted a phone interview with Furu and we discussed accuracy of polygraphs, mental illnesses, psychopaths, serial killers, forensic chemistry, and the physical demeanor of repeat criminals. Furu believes that nurture outweighs nature. Furu stated that throughout his years in the criminal justice field he's seen very few 'true' psychopaths; the majority of his cases involved someone who had been raised in a bad home or who had bad influences growing up. He defined a 'true' psychopath who commits crime for sport and feels no empathy and no remorse. Furu also said that most criminals know the difference between right and wrong, but those who are repeat offenders don't feel any guilt when they break the law. As a polygraph expert, Furu told me that they have a 95% accuracy, but fall short when trying to determine the criminal's mental state or whether mental illness is present.
Interview with Cody Warner
Cody Warner is a professor of sociology at MSU with a specialty in criminology. Warner and I talked about the nature vs. nurture debate, criminal sentencing, and the reintegration of an ex-con back into society. Warner believes that the creation of a criminal is an even split between nature and nurture. He stated that with his in-depth studies on criminals he has found that even if a person grows up in a bad environment, he can still make something good of himself. Warner also stated that he thinks there is too harsh of punishment on pettier crimes, when the focus of the justice system should be on those convicted of murder, rape, and assault.
Interview with Steve Swinford
Steve Swinford is also a sociology professor at MSU. Swinford's focus is more in the area of the human mind and behavior, not specific to criminals. Swinford told me about the "blank slate" theory. This theory proposes that people are born with a completely blank slate at birth and their environment is the sole influence for them. This theory is based primarily on the nurture belief. The opposition to this theory states that humans are born with all of their characteristics at birth, and certain environmental triggers can turn certain characteristics 'on' and 'off.' This theory follows the 50-50 belief, that nature and nurture are equal in influence. Swinford does not focus on criminals, so this prevents him from speculating about the cause of their deviant acts; however, he stated that he agrees more with the counter argument that follows 50-50.
Bob Furu is an MSU sociology major with a criminal justice focus. He went to the FBI academy and has held several jobs including: police officer, parole officer, and polygraph expert. I conducted a phone interview with Furu and we discussed accuracy of polygraphs, mental illnesses, psychopaths, serial killers, forensic chemistry, and the physical demeanor of repeat criminals. Furu believes that nurture outweighs nature. Furu stated that throughout his years in the criminal justice field he's seen very few 'true' psychopaths; the majority of his cases involved someone who had been raised in a bad home or who had bad influences growing up. He defined a 'true' psychopath who commits crime for sport and feels no empathy and no remorse. Furu also said that most criminals know the difference between right and wrong, but those who are repeat offenders don't feel any guilt when they break the law. As a polygraph expert, Furu told me that they have a 95% accuracy, but fall short when trying to determine the criminal's mental state or whether mental illness is present.
Interview with Cody Warner
Cody Warner is a professor of sociology at MSU with a specialty in criminology. Warner and I talked about the nature vs. nurture debate, criminal sentencing, and the reintegration of an ex-con back into society. Warner believes that the creation of a criminal is an even split between nature and nurture. He stated that with his in-depth studies on criminals he has found that even if a person grows up in a bad environment, he can still make something good of himself. Warner also stated that he thinks there is too harsh of punishment on pettier crimes, when the focus of the justice system should be on those convicted of murder, rape, and assault.
Interview with Steve Swinford
Steve Swinford is also a sociology professor at MSU. Swinford's focus is more in the area of the human mind and behavior, not specific to criminals. Swinford told me about the "blank slate" theory. This theory proposes that people are born with a completely blank slate at birth and their environment is the sole influence for them. This theory is based primarily on the nurture belief. The opposition to this theory states that humans are born with all of their characteristics at birth, and certain environmental triggers can turn certain characteristics 'on' and 'off.' This theory follows the 50-50 belief, that nature and nurture are equal in influence. Swinford does not focus on criminals, so this prevents him from speculating about the cause of their deviant acts; however, he stated that he agrees more with the counter argument that follows 50-50.