I couldn't help but notice how some criminals who have been caught and their arrests (or at least transports from court, the police station etc.) shown on UM were smiling or otherwise didn't seem to care what was happening to them. Examples include Diane Brodbeck, Sandra Beeman, Jerry Strickland, Dave Davis, David Berkowitz (in the news footage taken after his arrest). I was curious about the psychology behind this. Why do they smile? Are these people true sociopaths and just don't care? Are they enjoying the 15 minutes of fame regardless of the notoriety? Or are they so shocked and stunned by what is going on that their brain has taken a brief hiatus in la la land?

Any psychologists (armchair or otherwise, I know we have at least one real practicing psychologist posting here) care to take a crack at this?

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/graphics/packageart/mugshots/bookertmug.jpg:lol:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/17/Ted_Bundy_4.jpg

The one that sticks out in my mind was that idiot Jerry Gerbasoni or whatever his name was, who made a habit of hiding his face as they were walking him to the plane, and then smiling once he got on the plane. I told myself that he looked like an aboslute idiot for doing that.

Which brings me to another point, that I think was previously addressed by Seinfeld at the intro to one of his shows. why do criminals hide their faces from cameras? It's as if they're saying "I hope the guys at the office don't see this or my reputation will be ruined." But the thing is they're face is pretty well known by the point they're captured, so it's pretty much worthless to hide it.

I always enjoy sneaking in a Seinfeld reference for crystaldawn. ;)

I always enjoy sneaking in a Seinfeld reference for crystaldawn. ;)

Thanks Wiseguy....;) Its especially funny when they have them on camera for a good 10 seconds, face in full view, than they decide they're going to put their hands up to shield their face. Don't they realize even if they don't get a good shot of them while they're being taken somewhere the news program will just show everyone their mugshot? :crazy:

That's America; we have the happiest criminals. ;)


Seriously though, it is probably some of each of those things you mentioned, Justin. Depending on who it is.

OMG, how about Robert Weeks when he was arrested? Smiling and blinking like it was some kind of joke, what a creep! :mad:

Its a little dark but here is Diane Brodbeck in all her glory...

http://eyeball-series.org/hacker/pict115.jpg

Uhh... Dislimb? You usually have so much to say, but today, I see nothing. :)

Malaika Griffen, though the pic annoys me so much that I'm not going to post it.

Uhh... Dislimb? You usually have so much to say, but today, I see nothing. :)

Damn hyperlinking! :confused:

How about the whole scene with Edgar Karns and that female prison guard after they were arrested? Holding hands and kissing and smiling and everything is so cuddly and carefree. Robert Weeks was certainly a character. Highly arrogant and highly smug.

Don't forget the infamous Dale Kerstetter....

Not sure if this has been posted before but the Kay Beeman/Edgar Kerns segment was on Spike today. I can't remember how many years he got for the escape but Kay received 41 months. They said after they served their terms they lived together until her death from an undisclosed disease.

Not a UM, one , but the one that sticks out in my mind is Bernie Madoffs impish grin that he had on his perpwalk.

I have a theory that at that point, most criminals had resigned themselves to the fact that life in prison and getting caught was going to be the end game.
If you;ve lived with the consequences of your crime for that long, there really isn't any remorse, fear or anger left in you.Laughing is sometimes used as a mental defense when dealing with impossible situations.

I tend to look at these smiles as sort of a "man am i stupid, I actually got caught, oh well you gotta laugh at the situation"

Remember OJ singing "If I only had a brain" when he got arrested.

I also think there is some bizzare ingrained behavior to smile whenever your in front of a camera. :D

IIRC, Cheryl Holland was smirking like a fool when the cops dragged her off in hand cuffs after she'd been discovered living under an assumed name and was ratted out by her co-worker at the convenience store.

She had killed her aunt and uncle, set their house on fire, put their bodies in the trunk of their car, sunk the car in the river, abandoned her small kids and went on the run. Then she's smirking when she got caught.

Same thing about Mary Winkler (tho not a UM case) the preacher's wife in TN who killed her husband a couple years ago. It's not so much that she was smiling for the mug shots or anything, but there were a couple times that she had a dumbass looking smirk on her face that I just wanted to slap right off her.

Obviously, I think she's guilty of premeditated murder. You don't just shoot your husband in self defense, but then unplug the phone near him so he can't call for help as he lays there and dies while you flee the state... but that's another story for another place. Dumb husband killer was smirking cuz she knew she was getting away with it.

Smoking gun often has funny mugshots with clueless criminals smiling for the camera. Celebrities seem to be the worst about smiling for the police camera, like they think it's just another situation where they're the center of attention and are being worshipped by the paparrazi lens.

The rest of the assorted mugshots there often have funny crap, like drunks making faces... Smoking gun is an internet treasure. :)

Forget their names but the Thelma and Louise bandits, also Drew Peterson.

Wasn't Jack Ruby said to have shot Lee Harvey Oswald because he smirked?

Who could forget OJ Simpson's mugshot, the one that was taken following his arrest for armed robbery in 2007? It was a far cry from his 1994 mugshot.

OJ's smile in the 2007 mugshot was evidence of what we already know, that he is a narcissist. But the mugshot also appeared to indicate confidence on his part; perhaps he was feeling very confident that he could get away with armed robbery since he had already gotten away with butchering two people. Unfortunately for him, that was not to be.

The first person that popped in my mind was Drew Peterson. I really want that scumbag to go down. He may try to act like he doesnt care but you know he isnt smiling now. He is in jail kicking himself for pushing his luck and trying to get away with murder twice.

Wasn't Jack Ruby said to have shot Lee Harvey Oswald because he smirked?

I'm sure that's the story Howard Hunt gave ole Jack during the planning stages. :)