Suggestibility and the Juvenile Offender

One often hears others say about a juvenile offender that he was led astray by others. A frequently applied term is that he is a "follower" and not an instigator or a leader. At the heart of such characterizations is the view that a youth should not be held accountable for wrong doing when his behavior resulted from his going along with a person who was persuasive. In the Washington, D.C. sniper case, purportedly, Lee Malvo at the age of 17, behaved in a manner that was out of keeping with his own personality because he was under the influence of a much older man, John Muhammad. Mr. Malvo's attorneys asserted in his defense that Lee Malvo was a victim of Mr. Muhammad because he was emotionally needy and desperately in search of a father figure. Thus, he was suggestible to all that Mr. Muhammad had to teach him, resulting in his killing innocent people whom he did not know. This defense was not persuasive to the jury that tried Mr. Malvo and gave him a life sentence.

Common sense would tell us that people are suggestible to some things, not others. Kids will follow some youngsters, but reject others. The person reading this might be very suggestible to accompanying a friend to shop at a discount sale of clothing. If he or she were asked to go along to make a purchase of cocaine, he would excuse himself and seek other company. He would not be in the least suggestible to the individual proposing an illegal venture. We are suggestible to or follow the lead of people who share our interests. Most people who met John Muhammad would have parted company once they got to know him. Not Lee Malvo who became a very eager student for all that Mr. Muhammad had to teach him. (Many of his friends lacked fathers but they did not follow surrogate father figures and engage in criminal conduct because of it.)

In evaluating statements about suggestibility and being a "follower," one needs to arrive at an understanding of the "follower's" personality, his interests and what appeals to him. Then he may arrive at a plausible explanation for that person's behavior other than concluding it was his suggestibility that played a critical role.