How Does This Work?

The other day I was watching one of my favorite shows: American Justice. The episode was entitled: The Monster Inside (or Within, I can't remember.) Now usually when I watch these shows about a serial killer (espcially if they are a sex offender to boot) I have absolutely NO compassion for the offender... until this one. His name was Rex Allen Krebs. He had attempted to rape 2 women, raped 3 women, and killed 2 women. Usually when I see these types of offenses I feel sick and would love to see the offender taken off the face of this planet because I feel these people don't belong. Then they started to talk about his mans' childhood, his prior incarceration, and what happened while he was in prison and my attitude about him started to change.

He was severely abused as a child by both his father and his step-father. His mother sent him away and abandoned him, writing him off as a trouble-maker and something she didn't want to deal with. They talked a bit about the abuse, but I would prefer not to go into it, it's too horrible. I truly believe that the abuse he suffered as a child made him become the monster that he grew up to be.

After being convicted for rape he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. During his time in prison he pretty much begged for psychological help. They actually had official prison documents that stated this. He stated that he wanted to know why he did the things he did and that he didn't want to be the way he was. His pleas for help fell on deaf ears. He never received any sort of help for his psychological disorder but was released 10 years early due to good behavior. It was a mistake that would prove to be fatal for two young women.

Just a year after his release he attacked Rachel Newhouse. He ties her up, rapes her, and she is strangled to death while trying to escape from her bonds while Krebs is away. A year later he becomes fascinated with a young woman named Aundria Crawford. He stalks her for a few days, breaks into her house, and abducts her. He takes her back to his house and rapes her several times over the period of one day. After taking a nap on his couch he is awakened by the sounds of the girl trying to escape, in his rage he strangles her to death.

So, how much should his prior child abuse be weighed in the judgement against him? I used to say all the time, "There are plenty of people who are abused and don't go around killing people. It's NO excuse." However, this mans' case has me questioning that. How could someone go through so much abuse and not be affected? He showed remorse for his crimes and a desire to change but never had the means for getting help. This one really has me thinking. I genuinely feel sorry for this man. He plead guilty to both murders and was sentenced to death.

If you would like to know a little more about this man just click on the link:
http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Krebs,%20Rex%20Allen%20-%202005.pdf