Twenty five years ago this week, an article in the Weekly Standard by Princeton Political Science Professor John Dilulio advanced the theory of a coming wave of juvenile “super predators” who would commit violent crimes without a sense of conscience or remorse. As a result of this theory, states throughout the nation changed their laws so that juveniles could be sentenced as adults including the possibility of life without parole and even death. These changes led to the disproportionate sentencing of Black and Brown youth to long sentences in adult prisons. Although the implementation of such punitive measures received support among most politicians and the general public, the predicted wave of super predators never developed. From 1994-2000, the rate of juvenile crime actually went down. Among academics, adherents to this theory including Professor Dilulio realized that their predictions were wrong, and by 2001 the US Surgeon General called the theory a “myth.” Subsequent efforts by state legislators eventually reduced some of the harshest measures they had passed in fear of the “super predators.” Unfortunately, a generation of youth suffered harsh sentences under the extreme punitive laws that especially impacted Black and Brown youth.
The “myth of the super predator” is a vivid reminder that dehumanizing people has tragic consequences. Yet there is a tendency for us to continue putting people into categories that dehumanize those who are different, especially those seen as the enemy. Whenever a category is substituted for personhood, the result is justifying inhumane treatment of those in that category including violence and even death. The rise is rhetoric and hate crimes against both Jews and Palestinians is the most recent example of putting people into categories. However the recent ceasefire in the Israel Hamas war along with the hostage and prisoner exchanges reveal the humanity behind the categories. Seeing families and loved ones united on both sides of the conflict help us to recognize the sacred worth of every person made in the image of God.
The first video posted below features the recent hostage and prisoner exchanges. The second video features the story of a Black man who suffered as the result of being labeled a super predator but whose life as an adult shows the fallacy of substituting a category for personhood.
