As Atlanta officials aim to tackle the city's safety problems this year, some of their toughest criminals to stop maybe young offenders whose desires to commit crimes are being fueled by an anticipation of dying early.
Georgia
State University Criminal Justice experts Timothy Brezina, Volkan
Topalli and economist Erdal Tekin, have released a unique study that
indicates that although young criminals are aware of the risks of
violent injury, death or punishment, the possibility of a shorter life
span encourages them to focus more on the "here and now."
"It
turns out that if you boil it all down the more you think you are going
to die young the more likely it is that you are going to engage in
criminality and violence," Topalli said. "This is the opposite of what
most people think, because most people think that if you think you're
going to die soon you become depressed and you wouldn't commit crimes."
Source: Science Daily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100113104255.htm