In Cold Blood

I didn’t want to harm the
man. I thought he was a very nice gentleman. Softspoken. I
thought so right up to the moment I cut his throat

Despite the violence in their lives,
al of the men had ego-images of themselves as physical y
inferior, weak, and inadequate

How can a person as sane as this man
seems to be commit an act as crazy as the one he was
convicted of

Murder
Without Apparent Motive—A Study in Personality

and some of his thinking reflects a ‘magical’
quality, a disregard of reality.

tends
to feel that others discriminate against him, and feels that
others are unfair to him and do not understand him

His self-esteem is
very low, and he secretly feels inferior to others and sexual y
inadequate

Maybe we’re not human. I’m human
enough to feel sorry for myself

I’l be damned if I’m the only kil er in the
courtroom

Val ey View Cemetery, that gray-and-green
island of tombs and trees and flowered paths, a restful,
leafy, whispering oasis lying like a cool piece of cloud