The recent Oregonian article about the Barefoot Bandit was interesting to me.

‘Barefoot Bandit’ Colton Harris-Moore pleads guilty in Seattle to federal charges

I have heard of this kid who thieved barefoot and eluded authorities in creative ways, and my wife asks me, “Why did he commit those crimes?” After completing a 10-year biography on Leslie Rogge, who robbed banks for nearly two decades, I still didn’t have an answer for her. I just shrugged my shoulders in ignorance and smiled and said, “I don’t know.”

This Barefoot kid seemed to be similar to Les in many ways, lack of shoes aside, and it appears to me that running in an era of technology isn’t as easy as it was 30 years ago since Barefoot’s career was brief. Perhaps Les’s bank robbery career would have been brief if he were eluding authorities in this day and age? There seems to be comparisons between the ingenuity of the crimes and get aways between these two criminals. There also has to be a similar mindset or psychological reason that enable very smart people to lead an alternative lifestyle without much remorse, and I’d be interested in hearing some hypothesis on what makes these people tick.

I look forward to reading about Barefoot’s story. I know the reasons why Les turned to robbing banks, and I have my own ideas on why his conscience let him follow through with his ideas. I’d like to compare these two individuals and their backgrounds growing up. Anybody out there a psychologist in criminal justice? Let me know your thoughts and post a comment!