Dennis Nilsen - following on from the drama Des

Corco65

Corco65

Well-known member
Out of interest, as it has sparked some household debate, do you think he was insane or bad and evil to do what he did?
 
If he was insane why did he hide his tracks so well and admit that his crimes were “wrong”. But then how could any sane person do what he did.

So it’s a difficult question to answer in a forum
Like this but I think this afore thought he showed in how he covered his tracks led to the guilty verdicts.
 
Killing people is not normal behaviour.. it was terrifying to think that guy could have been out in 15 years on a repetitively small point.

I mean if he had have brought the guy back to life that ended up testifying against him, would he have got a lesser sentence?

David Tennant played the part well, he seemed more suited to that than being Dr Who. It didn't seem that much of a stretch for him!!
 
He did know what he was doing and did plan out events - to me that makes its more murder than manslaughter. He had no feelings for other human beings. He reminded me of a cat with a mouse, sometimes he killed sometimes he let go, but all the time he got pleasure from control and power. Boiling the body parts helped dispose of the bodies, there was a sick logic. He said himself he would have killed 250 young men and boys if he was allowed to. If he had been released how would he have been monitored?

To me most murderers have to be abnormal, to deliberately take a life, but that is not the same as being mad.
 
The strange thing is, we ask solders to kill, sometimes in cold blood. I didn't believe some stats that showed the vast majority of solders deliberately missed with their shooting, I do tend to believe them now. Most people are not born killers.
 
He used to drink in a pub in Muswell Hill called the Spoons. So did I but years after his crimes and some of the locals said he seemed completely normal, loved his dog whom he brought with him and he was generally liked, obviously prior to the discovery of the bodies!! Have to say, in relation to the OP Question, that it didn’t really matter if he was sane and just plain evil or alternatively if it was insanity that drove him to do such awful things. He was always going to be convicted of murder as this was the way to ensure he would never be released. The Jury, or at least the majority of them, would have realised this.
 
I think our everyday use of the word 'evil' is unhelpful at best. The concept of 'evil' belongs back in medieval times. People who murder tend to either have mental health issues or severe behavioural issues, often stemming from childhood, or a toxic mixture of both. Unfortunately the span of time in developmental years is so small that if their synapses don't get chance to form in a safe and nurturing environment, that's often it; no second chance and they never form after that. Such people tend not to go on to develop the tools and skills needed to live a useful, rounded life to make a positive contribution to society. Our prisons are full of them, the experience of which sadly just reinforces the behaviours which got them there in the first place.
 
He was clearly very sick and disturbed, mentally unwell, if you like.

No-one in their right mind could do what he did. It is not an excuse, but maybe a reason
 
It's one thing killing then all.....(not saying it lightly)

It's a completely different level living with them rotting and decaying corpses in a small flat. Also getting them out to 'talk' too. That has to have some kind of different level evil.

I had actually never heard of him before this program. I watched one on Ted Bundy who did similier in terms of visiting his decaying victims where he buried them in woods.

I was born in the 70s and grew up with the usual 'don't go with strangers' and that weird advert with puppies in a car😂. I actually thought it was a safe time but in hindsite the 70s and 80s were rife with serial killers (many in the US) and TV nonces who at the time we all loved.

To think I'd go out at 10 in morning at not come back until teatime or dark at 7-8 year old. I'm suprised we survived (never mind no health and safety / no seat belts / drink drivers etc).
 
I found the whole idea that whether or not he'd pre-planned the killings would gve an indication of mental state (i.e. disprove insanity) a bit odd. Surely preplanning something so horrific is equally an indication of mental health issues ?
 
HarryVegas said:
I think our everyday use of the word 'evil' is unhelpful at best. The concept of 'evil' belongs back in medieval times. People who murder tend to either have mental health issues or severe behavioural issues, often stemming from childhood, or a toxic mixture of both. Unfortunately the span of time in developmental years is so small that if their synapses don't get chance to form in a safe and nurturing environment, that's often it; no second chance and they never form after that. Such people tend not to go on to develop the tools and skills needed to live a useful, rounded life to make a positive contribution to society. Our prisons are full of them, the experience of which sadly just reinforces the behaviours which got them there in the first place.
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HV, whilst our view on evil may be correct in terms of an explanation of an individual Having a stunted emotional growth. It doesn’t explain Nazism, the Holocaust, Khmer Rouge or other atrocities, of which there are many and are certainly not from the medieval period. Not to be argumentative but I do believe that evil as a concept, not in any biblical sense, exists.
 
John67 said:
HV, whilst our view on evil may be correct in terms of an explanation of an individual Having a stunted emotional growth. It doesn’t explain Nazism, the Holocaust, Khmer Rouge or other atrocities, of which there are many and are certainly not from the medieval period. Not to be argumentative but I do believe that evil as a concept, not in any biblical sense, exists.
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I wouldn't call it evil, I'd call it a dark, rarely discussed or acknowledged side of human nature. Given the right (wrong) conditioning, people can be persuaded to do pretty much anything to other human beings.
 
Redwurzel said:
The strange thing is, we ask solders to kill, sometimes in cold blood. I didn't believe some stats that showed the vast majority of solders deliberately missed with their shooting, I do tend to believe them now. Most people are not born killers.
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One of the Black Mirror's was about that. They mentioned the book 'On Killing' which is about exactly what you have mentioned.
 
John67 said:
HV, whilst our view on evil may be correct in terms of an explanation of an individual Having a stunted emotional growth. It doesn’t explain Nazism, the Holocaust, Khmer Rouge or other atrocities, of which there are many and are certainly not from the medieval period. Not to be argumentative but I do believe that evil as a concept, not in any biblical sense, exists.
Click to expand...
This may be a helpful link to anyone who's unaware how ordinary people can be persuaded to do extraordinarily awful things...
 
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