Why They Kill (2017)

Why do some men, women, and even children assault, batter, rape, mutilate, and murder? This age-old question led to the breakthrough research and singular theory which comprehensively explains how violent criminals develop, how violent communities are created and transformed, and how violent acts are committed and prevented. Based on the critically acclaimed book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Richard Rhodes, Why They Kill is a startling exploration into the four-step "violentization" process that leads some to attack and murder. This feature documentary elucidates how this process unfolds by exploring the stages in the creation of a dangerous, violent criminal according to a theory developed by the renowned criminologist, Lonnie H. Athens, and the strategies that can be taken in preventing and breaking the "violentization" cycle. The film provides general audiences along with community advocates, policymakers, and stakeholders of educational institutions, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations with new insight into the root causes and prevention of violent crime. It stimulates discussion among those whose work intersects in the lives of families and children by demonstrating how they can help short-circuit the "violentization" process. The film underscores the importance of community organizations, including schools, police, courts, families, and neighborhood groups, and others, and the need for these disparate groups to collaborate in a child's and adolescent's development.