When perpetrators of mass shootings fail to commit suicide

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There is often a "why" as to why mass shootings happen, and it's a legitimate question because mass shooters usually turn the gun on themselves or get taken out by law enforcement.

This has created fertile ground for conspiracy theories and politicization of the event because the shooter is usually no longer alive. People have blamed video games, pop culture, music, Marilyn Manson, satanism, etc.; Glenn Beck has even tried to blame a recent mass shooting in Alabama on so-called political correctness.

He's wrong and he's an idiot.

Sometimes these shooters make a mistake, and get captured alive.

So, what goes on in their minds?

Let's find out.

Colin Ferguson

He killed six and wounded nineteen before being stopped by three of the passengers: Kevin Blum, Mark McEntee, and Mike O'Connor. Ferguson's trial was notable for a number of unusual developments, including his firing of his defense counsel and insisting on representing himself and examining himself as a live witness.

Ferguson argued that the 93 counts he was charged with were related to 1993, and had it been 1925 he would have been charged with only 25 counts. He admitted bringing the gun onto the train, but claimed that he fell asleep, and another man grabbed his gun and began firing. He also argued that a mysterious man named Mr. Su had information concerning a conspiracy against him. He also found another man who was willing to testify that the government implanted a computer chip in Ferguson's brain, but at the last minute decided not to call him to the stand. His cross examination questions mostly started with "Is it your testimony..." and would simply force the witness to repeat testimony already given. When a witness refused to answer the question to his satisfaction he would often ask the judge to "admonish the witness to answer the question". Legal experts pointed out that Ferguson's questions were pointless and were not geared towards rebutting testimony. By not recognizing when to object to testimony and closing arguments, he would lose his right to appeal on those grounds. Among the defense witnesses Ferguson requested was President Bill Clinton. After his conviction, he was put in the unenviable position to argue in appellate briefs that he had incompetent counsel (himself).

Ferguson was convicted on February 17, 1995 of murder for the death of the six passengers who died of their injuries.

He was also convicted of attempted murder for wounding nineteen passengers during the mass murder. He received 315 years and eight months to life, meaning his current earliest possible parole date is August 6, 2309. He also received the judge's promise that "Colin Ferguson will never return to society, and will spend the rest of his natural life in prison". At the sentencing, Judge Donald E. Belfi called Ferguson a "selfish, self-righteous coward".

Martin Bryant

Martin John Bryant (born 7 May 1967) murdered 35 people and injured 21 others in the Port Arthur massacre, a killing spree in Tasmania in 1996. He is currently serving 35 life sentences in Hobart's Risdon Prison. His rampage ranks among the deadliest of the 20th century. Bryant was badly burned during a botched escape attempt and was captured by police. At the trial, Bryant initially pleaded not guilty but later, persuaded by his court-appointed lawyer and the prosecution, pleaded guilty to murder. He has attempted suicide 6 times while being imprisoned.

Shi Yuejun

Chinese serial killer who between September 24, 2006 and September 29, 2006 murdered 12 people and wounded four in Tonghua, Jilin Province. On September 29, 2006, Yuejun was arrested and sentenced to death on November 26, 2006. On December 20, 2006 Shi was executed.

Shi described his motive as "revenge by the humiliations that he suffered by the society".

William Kreutzer, Jr.

He opened fire on a formation of soldiers at Fort Bragg, North Carolina killing an officer and wounding 17 other men on October 27th, 1995. This is because three Special Forces soldiers managed to get behind Kreutzer during the shooting, and tackled him to the ground. By the time Military Police arrived on the scene, Kreutzer was insisting that he had given plenty of warnings that he was going to snap one day and start killing, but that they had ignored him, and said that it was "God's way". After arriving at the Criminal Investigation Division office, Kreutzer waived his rights and again asked to speak with Darren Fong, who had since been reassigned. Psychiatrist Dr. Diamond, was provided in lieu, since Kreutzer had invoked his right to silence and an attorney and refused to speak to the military police. Diamond interviewed Kreutzer, and reported that he seemed delusional and severely distraught. He was originally sentenced to death, but Colonel James Currie of the Army Court of Criminal Appeals commuted Kreutzer's death sentence, citing that his lawyer had not properly informed the courts of his client's mental illnesses.

Richard Farley

A former employee of Electromagnetic Systems Labs (ESL) in Sunnyvale, California, he stalked co-worker Laura Black for four years beginning in 1984. Black obtained a temporary restraining order against him on February 2, 1988, with a court date set for February 17, 1988 to make the order permanent. On February 16, 1988, Farley shot and killed seven people at ESL and wounded four others, including Black. He was convicted of seven counts of first degree murder, and is currently sitting on death row at San Quentin. Farley surrendered to police on the promise of a sandwich and a soda. During trial, Farley admitted to the killings, but pleaded "not guilty", claiming that he never planned to kill but only wished to get Black's attention or commit suicide in front of her for rejecting him.

Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden

Mitchell Scott Johnson (born August 11, 1984) and Andrew Douglas Golden (born May 25, 1986) were middle school students who committed the Westside Middle School shooting, killing four students and one teacher, and wounding ten others. As the police arrived on the scene, Johnson and Golden ran into the woods back to the van. However, they failed to outrun the officers that were pursuing them, and were both arrested. During the trial, Mitchell hung his head and read a letter of apology he had written to victims' families. Mitchell said he wasn't targeting anyone. "We were not going to shoot at anyone in particular," he said. "I really thought we would scare them. I am sorry. I hope anyone who listens to these word knows how truly sorry I am." Johnson was released on August 11, 2005, on his 21st birthday due to federal gun crimes. Golden was released on May 25, 2007, also his 21st birthday. Golden's exact whereabouts are unknown, but he is known to be living in Arkansas under an assumed name.

Kip Kinkel

Kipland Philip "Kip" Kinkel (born August 30, 1982) is an American murderer who perpetrated the killings of his parents on May 20, 1998, and afterwards a school shooting at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon that left two students dead and 25 others wounded. He is currently serving an 111-year sentence, without the possibility of parole. Seven students were involved in subduing and disarming Kinkel. When brought to the police station, Kinkel lunged at Al Warthen, a police officer, with his knife, screaming, "Shoot me, kill me!" The officer sprayed Kinkel with pepper spray, thwarting his attack. Kinkel later said that he wanted to trick the officer into shooting him, and that he had wanted to commit suicide after killing his parents, but could not bring himself to do it. It was reported that he had two bullets strapped to his chest at the time of the shooting, in order to end his life. At his sentencing, the defense presented a number of experts in mental health in an effort to prove that Kinkel was mentally ill. The only psychologist who had seen Kinkel before the shootings maintained that he was in satisfactory mental health. However, he had only seen Kinkel for a total of nine sessions, after which his parents felt that he had made satisfactory progress. On September 24, 1999, three days before jury selection was set to begin, Kinkel pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, foregoing the possibility of being acquitted by reason of insanity. In November 1999, Kinkel was sentenced to 111 years in prison without the possibility of parole. At sentencing, Kinkel apologized to the court for the murder of his parents and the shooting spree.

- (All of this can be found on Wikipedia)

You can take from this what you want, but to me, these mass shooters sound like paranoid narcissists with some guns and lots of ammo. These shootings will always be with us, and it will always be hard to blame it on something, but to think that we can blame these shootings on things video games, Marilyn Manson, or political correctness is just absurd.