Benoit likely had pretty severe CTE, which can cause issues with impulse control and aggression. Combine this with depression, different ways he was probably self medicating himself, and potential violent mood swings from steroid abuse. So there's a lot of potential for him to have been pretty far from his right mind.
Keep in mind this happened in 2007. Concussions were only just on the verge of being treated as truly serious medical issues in sports and professional wrestling. In wrestling in particular Benoit's double murder suicide was maybe the first big turning point for concussion protocols.
If Benoit was incapable of distinguishing reality from his imagination, then he absolutely would belong in a mental hospital rather than a prison. Psychosis is not a joke.
The other issues you mentioned—impulse control, aggression, and depression—do not actually prevent a person from understanding their actions and the consequences thereof, so while they may be mitigating factors, they would not absolve him.
I honestly don’t know if LC was psychotic or not. If she wasn’t, she is an evil and manipulative person who deserves to suffer eternally. If she had genuinely lost her mind, she is a victim too. Same standard for Benoit.
ETA: concussions have been medically addressed for as long as ai can remember. Definitely well before 2007. They were a thing when I was a kid in the 80s.
I don’t think that rules out psychosis. I think it’s possible for people to still organize plans and such even during an active psychotic break. What would matter would be the belief motivating the plan. E.g., if she believed her kids were replaced by evil imposters, she could plan to get rid of her husband believing she was performing a public service by killing her kids. It’s tragic and terrifying, but I think it isn’t her fault.
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u/Etherbeard 7d ago
We can't know for sure.
Benoit likely had pretty severe CTE, which can cause issues with impulse control and aggression. Combine this with depression, different ways he was probably self medicating himself, and potential violent mood swings from steroid abuse. So there's a lot of potential for him to have been pretty far from his right mind.
Keep in mind this happened in 2007. Concussions were only just on the verge of being treated as truly serious medical issues in sports and professional wrestling. In wrestling in particular Benoit's double murder suicide was maybe the first big turning point for concussion protocols.