Does Christopher McCuin hear God?

I think there’s probably a much more complex explanation and it’s possibly he could be suffering from mental illness whether it’s chronic or acute. People can often try to scapegoat or diminish the crime(s) they commit (the latter as a sort of coping mechanism) after the fact–this was a very serious crime and if he was lucid and lacked a mental health/psych history or any condition which could potentially explain his behavior then prosecutors probably won’t have a difficult time in proving mens rea. IF he was/is indeed suffering from some acute or chronic MH/psych condition then he may have truly believed God was telling him to do this–he could’ve lacked the cognitive function to actually allow him to differentiate from reality and fantasy and would benefit from placement in a psychiatric facility in lieu of going to a traditional correctional facility. If there is substantive proof of mens rea then it would also make sense for the statement he said as people often try to malinger–an occurrence which trained mental health professionals can (usually) easily detect meaning–he’s saying that in an attempt to lessen the gravity of the actual crime to both his psyche and in an attempt to avoid prosecution and/or punishment. If this is a case of malingering then he knowingly committed the crime and attempted to hide his guilt rather than committing the crime while being mentally ill. Hopefully that isn’t too jumbled, LOL!

I don’t think McCuin heard God and I don’t think anyone else ever does either.

Many schizophrnics, think the voice they hear to be God…

I wonder if the world was devoid of any religion, whose voice they’d hear?? Mom’s?

p

no, god would never say to do that kind of mostrosity I think is most likely it was hes demond that got ahold of him for lack of faith but most times there heart is just full of evil that is easy for them to commit this kind if stuff.

I think that they do believe that God is telling them… some people hear themself thinking something… and decide it was God… He’s a sick man… And he most definitely was NOT hearing God.

If a Christian thinks they’ve ‘heard God’ or even just ‘got an idea from God’ they have to test that out against the teachings of Jesus. If it doesn’t fit those teachings, it’s not from God. Don’t think this one fits…

I think the psychological answer is the right one here, although he could just be making an excuse he thinks will help his case.

I think he’s completely ‘helmet’ retarded, insane, or trying to appear insane. The idea of God (christian) instructing someone to kill and cannibalize the body of another, is completely ridiculous.

Maybe he hears a demon claiming to be God. . . . . And No I don’t believe God told him. . . I think he is trying to get an Insanity plea.

freud99,

Thanks for the answer, I like how you have evidence to support your opinion.

I don’t know but…

No problem! In my forensic psych class we discussed a lot of infamous cases and trials involving similar situations. Contrary to popular belief the insanity defense is rarely used in this country–the media always publicizes such cases and it can easily seem as if it’s used more commonly. Only a small fraction of the cases that actually utilize the insanity defense “win” and aren’t held criminally liable. Personally, I’d always thought this defense was such an easy way to elude prosecution but realistically it just isn’t. But about this case– I think many people have or will initially observe that this man automatically has a mental illness but the frightening reality is that he may not have (or ever had) mental health issues. Reading about this case was really disturbing and whatever the outcome is I hope he can receive adequate treatment, mental illness or not.