Friday, February 3, 2012

Changing The Perception Of Crime...!

This probably was the first time the public had read accounts of this type of crime.

Strange, but I just never thought of crimes of this magnitude taking place this far back! Guess this might be the forerunner to the types of sprees we read about every day!

It had to be very shocking to the folks back then, where as now days we are almost immune to the terrible ways that man can treat his fellow men! I'm afraid to say that we have almost reached the point where we can't be shocked by anything! Parents killing toddlers, children being raped and abused, spouse beatings and killings, old folks being attacked and beat and robbed...the list goes on and on!

You have to wonder when there is going to finally be an end to it all. I'm just surprised that God hasn't just wiped the slate clean and started over! At the rate we are going, before long the bad guys will have done away with the decent folks and then they will have to start in on each other!

Feb 3, 1780:
Early American mass murder changes common perceptions of crime

In one of the most famous crimes of post-Revolution America, Barnett Davenport commits an awful mass murder in rural Connecticut. Caleb Mallory, his wife, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren were killed in their home by their boarder, Davenport.

Davenport, born in 1760, enlisted in the American army as a teenager and had served at Valley Forge and Fort Ticonderoga. In the waning days of the war with the British, he came to live in the Mallory household. Today, Davenport's crime might be ascribed to some type of post-war stress syndrome, but at the time it was the source of a different sociological significance.

On February 3, apparently unprovoked, Davenport beat Caleb Mallory to death. He then beat Mallory's seven-year-old grandchild with a rifle and killed his daughter-in-law. Davenport looted the home before setting it on fire, killing two others.

His shocking confession was the basis of much soul-searching for the fledgling nation's press. Many books were written about the crime, and the perception of murderers began to change in America. Until then, crime was most often seen as the result of common sinners losing their way. But Davenport's crime and its portrayal to the public caused people to perceive criminals as evil and alien to the rest of society. To some degree, this view has persisted through the years.

I just don't know anymore, I really don't! Lots of spoiled fruit in our family tree! Bad thing is, from bad fruit you get bad seeds! Scary!

Let's have our coffee out on the patio. Too nice to stay inside this morning!

10 comments:

Catman said...

Wow. That's just one incident on a Saturday night in many major cities in America. How times have changed.

HermitJim said...

Hey Catman...
Sad to say that it has indeed changed...and not for the better!

Thanks, buddy, for dropping in this morning!

tjbbpgobIII said...

Now, if only they'ed have started gun control right after this happened we wouldn't be in so much trouble today. _ _ _ _ _NOT ! ! !

Sixbears said...

Some people aren't too tightly wrapped. As a war vet, he probably had been pushed over the edge. Our lives today are even more stress filled so it's no wonder people jump the tracks.

Well Hermit, I've got the coffee brewing, a nice organic Nicaraguan. Should be a good day. Less stress in my life these days.

Momlady said...

Just think of how many military will be coming home these days with PTSD. Yikes!

linda m said...

This is scary to think that the same type crime is committed today. I have always wondered why God destroyed cites and caused a great Flood back in biblical times over what God called "sinful people". Yet today, when I feel people are more sinful God doesn't destroy us? Or is He just waiting for a more opportune time and will let us destroy ourselves. Something to think about. Have a good day.

JO said...

You made the comment that before long they will destroy each other. That has already begun. Gang against gang. Hope they do away with each other soon.
But still a horrible tragedy.
Coffee on your patio sounds wonderful it is back down into the low 30s at night and today will be in the mmid 60s of course that is not bad.

HermitJim said...

Hey tjbbpgobIII...
I don't think that anyone back then had any idea what was to come! Of course, guns were needed to feed the family, so taking them away or controlling them would have been next to impossible!

Today, so many just hand them over!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Sixbears...
Fresh coffee close to the water! What a way to start the day!

If that doesn't relieve stress, nothing will!

Thanks, my friend, for coming by today!


Hey Momlady...
Sadly, the government seems to be dragging their feet on helping some of these guys!

I really feel for the guys that are having a hard time.

Thanks, lady, for coming by today!


Hey Linda...
I guess that God has His own plan, just like the good book says!

Trust in the Lord...and keep ducking! Best we can do, it seems!

Thanks so much for coming by today!


Hey JoJo...
The biggest problem with the gang wars is that so many innocent folks are killed!

Wouldn't hurt to have some more honest and less lenient courts. Way too many of the bad guys get by with a slap on the wrist!

Thanks, sweetie, for dropping by today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

That sounds like a report in a modern newspaper. And they talk about the "good old days".

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