Season 2: Premier - 22 Level "Gradations of Evil" Scale

Season Two on Nocturnal Distractions will be a series that will cover Forensic Psychologist, Michael Stone’s, 22- level “Gradations of Evil” Scale. But what exactly is the definition of “evil”? And is there a way to classify one act of evil as being more evil than another? Or, what is the point of even dividing evil into levels? Could we use this information to rehabilitate perpetrators if possible? Or maybe even be able to recognize violent tendencies in younger people, or even children, and try to intervene and hopefully prevent future acts of violence. Maybe to begin to try to understand and answer one of the major questions that makes me, and many others, interested in true crime, the WHY. WHY do people commit ‘evil’ acts? Dr. Stone bases his scale off of research and information that he has gathered about hundreds of murderers in the 20th century. and its focus remains mainly on murder. The few exceptions are cases involving multiple rapes and the strong suspicion of murder, that could not be proven. Or cases where a person was regarded as evil by the community due to their cruelty to a spouse, to children, or to other family/friends. Their actions fall short of actual murder, but still often lead to the death of the victim. In this premiere episode I will be explaining the history behind the scale and how Dr. Stone laid out the 22 levels (also called categories) and his process behind it. I will also briefly give the definitions and characteristics associated with each level. Each episode in the series will be covering a case that can be classified as ‘evil’ beginning with Category 1, then 2, and so on and so forth until all 22 have been discussed. Just to reiterate, this is a SERIES, and not a multi-parter. I like to compare it to a TV show like CSI or Law and Order, you can listen to an episode in the middle of the season and not be lost. While there is an underlying backstory (the ‘Gradations of Evil’ Scale) each case can be listened to on its own with no catching up needed. Resources: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/michael-stone-explains-his-scale-of-evil/ https://www.npr.org/2010/08/21/129175964/on-the-scale-of-evil-where-do-murderers-rate https://exploringyourmind.com/the-scale-of-evil-from-self-defense-to-psychopaths/ Book: The Anatomy of Evil by Michael H. Stone, MD Email me at: [email protected] Here's the link to all the listening platforms, socials, tip jar, Patreon page, etc: https://linktr.ee/nocturnaldistractionspodcast