If either one had got out alive, would they be a loyal partner in crime

had one of them been alive, do you think they'd speak on behalf of the other with full honesty or would they choose to cover their asses by fabricating the truth to their crime?
**edit: If we have seen or researched through enough to understand the dynamics of their friendship, can it be safe to say that if one had lived would tell the full story for the other, regardless in terms of the punishment they would get? I guess I meant in confessional sense.

I can see Dylan covering for Eric more so than Eric covering for Dylan just because of what happened with the 30th incident.

Ah crap I posted a reply in the e/d suicide thread before I saw this post, So I'm going to post that reply here too (and add into it).


I feel like if Dylan had been taken alive, his parents would have fought like hell to protect his image and could probably afford the best lawyers. And with the threat of prison looming in the distance, who's to say he wouldn't go along with them in exchange for a lesser punishment?

There's speculation that Dylan used Eric to fulfill his dream of going "NBK". If that's the case then it's possible that he wasnt really as loyal to Eric as originally thought anyway. It might not be hard for him to shift most of the blame onto Eric, especially with the encouragement of his parents and laywers.

If Eric had been taken alive (and I find it highly unlikely that Eric would be taken alive due to his fantasy of being taken out by cops), I think he would've continued his REB persona. He wanted infamy, he wanted people to be afraid of him and This was his big opportunity to "prove himself". But I don't think he would take ALL the responsibility for the shooting. I think Eric enjoyed having a partner in crime and would remind people that he didn't act alone.

If either had survived I don't think their punishment could have been anything less than max penalty regardless of their plea or representation.

I'll go with neither "rolling" on the other for blame. I could see either one of them playing the game thru their legal representation if the events were different & for some reason they could lighten their penalty.. but even then I don't believe they'd be doing it for any other reason than a lighter penalty.

If we have seen or researched through enough to understand the dynamics of their friendship, can it be safe to say that if one had lived would tell the full story for the other, regardless in terms of the punishment they would get? I guess I meant in confessional sense. So far it seems like we think Eric would twist a little as opposed to Dyl?

We know Eric threw Dylan under the bus for the van incident, so that answers the question with regards to him.

With Dylan who knows.

I don't see what the point would be in a survivor of the two blaming the dead one. They both killed people and plotted it. The punishment for this wasn't going to be a year in the diversion programme.

They both wanted to die doing it and the rest of their life in prison would have been the last thing they wanted. I think if anything the survivor would have taken full responsibility to try and get the death sentence?

liquorvamp wrote:

If we have seen or researched through enough to understand the dynamics of their friendship, can it be safe to say that if one had lived would tell the full story for the other, regardless in terms of the punishment they would get? I guess I meant in confessional sense. So far it seems like we think Eric would twist a little as opposed to Dyl?

Eric's personality in general twisted, hyped & sensationalized a lot of things to his favor/desired image. But I don't think he would "roll over" on Dylan to pass blame or minimize his involvement (short of lighter sentence if it were possible).

I feel if they could have a silent mutual agreement to commit a massacre together, I believe they'd be loyal enough to tell the story on behalf of the other if let's say one came out alive. One of the other things i've always wondered about are the conversations eric and dylan had together between the two of them regarding what they've done. I mean, how would these two nonchalantly talk about mass murder.

Eric would have rolled on Dylan for sure. Though Eric was suicidal to an extent the main reason for killing himself was to avoid capture. I think the self proclaimed master liar would have said anything he could think of not to have his freedom taken. A failed NBK with no propane bomb detonations, a measly 13 deaths, and life behind bars would have been THE perfect punishment for Eric. Not only would he have to spend life being told what to do by the authority figures he despised, but he'd also have to deal with all the embarrassment and mockery that would have come from his "macho man" journal/videos being released. He would have been a solidified beta male for the rest of his imprisoned life. Its kind of a nice thought actually. Its too bad he pulled that trigger one last time.

I honestly have no idea about Dylan. I'm of the believe that Dylan was the "man behind the curtain" when it came to the idea of NBK. I don't think Dylan felt true loyalty to Eric. I get the feeling that Eric was just easy for Dylan to tolerate and use. They may have been friends, but Eric was never Dylan's original choice to go NBK with. That fact makes me think that Dylan wouldn't have stayed too loyal if caught. Taking credit for the shooting wasnt nearly as important as dying. Had he been caught he would have definitely tried killing himself in captivity. I don't doubt that at all.

Both boys would've cracked shortly after if they had been apprehended. Not only would tremendous pressure have been applied to them but it would've been suggest by their counsel to blame as much as possible on the other boy. Even if they were to somehow hold off through their trial phrase, experience tells us that incarceration and the reality of that being their lives (if they didn't get the death penalty, which was a possibility) would've likely changed their tunes sooner rather than later. The Manson killers probably thought they'd be loyal to the end too, and it took, what, five years to have all of them renouncing Manson and their past.

(Leaving the small group of falsely imprisoned/innocent) The people who don't crack tend to be those who are genuinely cracked themselves or whose crime was in some sense political. A mobster, for example, is a member of a extra-political group; Timothy McVeigh used terror for political goals et al. And while the boys in some inchoate way thought of themselves as acting politically; does anyone take those claims seriously? Would they, say a year or two into prison? When they are 22 instead of 17/18? It's difficult to imagine.

Nirvana92 wrote:

Eric would have rolled on Dylan for sure. Though Eric was suicidal to an extent the main reason for killing himself was to avoid capture. I think the self proclaimed master liar would have said anything he could think of not to have his freedom taken. A failed NBK with no propane bomb detonations, a measly 13 deaths, and life behind bars would have been THE perfect punishment for Eric. Not only would he have to spend life being told what to do by the authority figures he despised, but he'd also have to deal with all the embarrassment and mockery that would have come from his "macho man" journal/videos being released. He would have been a solidified beta male for the rest of his imprisoned life. Its kind of a nice thought actually. Its too bad he pulled that trigger one last time.

So true. Not meaning to stray off topic, but another mass shooter I wonder how things would've been and wish had been captured alive (along with all cowardly shooters) is Adam Lanza. I think out of all the mass shooters, AL would've been the most horrified to be taken alive.

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

astrospace92 wrote:

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

Kinda jumping off of this...do you think that if Dylan would have survived it would have fueled his "god complex"? I think it might have

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

Kinda jumping off of this...do you think that if Dylan would have survived it would have fueled his "god complex"?  I think it might have

Totally! And I think he'd be pleased with himself that the unnamed girl he was "in love with" would now know he exists. Perhaps he'd even believe she'd reach out to him. I'm sure both boys were well aware that mass murderers IE Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez had an abundance of admirers.

It's easy for his parents to defend a dead man, but with him being alive and being able to voice his grandiose it would be much more difficult.

I'm not psychiatrist, but I do feel like Dylan may have had psychopathic tendencies as well as Eric (was Eric REALLY a psychopath, though?)

astrospace92 wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

Kinda jumping off of this...do you think that if Dylan would have survived it would have fueled his "god complex"?  I think it might have

Totally! And I think he'd be pleased with himself that the unnamed girl he was "in love with" would now know he exists. Perhaps he'd even believe she'd reach out to him. I'm sure both boys were well aware that mass murderers IE Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez had an abundance of admirers.

It's easy for his parents to defend a dead man, but with him being alive and being able to voice his grandiose it would be much more difficult.

I'm not psychiatrist, but I do feel like Dylan may have had psychopathic tendencies as well as Eric (was Eric REALLY a psychopath, though?)

IMHO he was not a pyschopath

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

Kinda jumping off of this...do you think that if Dylan would have survived it would have fueled his "god complex"?  I think it might have

Totally! And I think he'd be pleased with himself that the unnamed girl he was "in love with" would now know he exists. Perhaps he'd even believe she'd reach out to him. I'm sure both boys were well aware that mass murderers IE Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez had an abundance of admirers.

It's easy for his parents to defend a dead man, but with him being alive and being able to voice his grandiose it would be much more difficult.

I'm not psychiatrist, but I do feel like Dylan may have had psychopathic tendencies as well as Eric (was Eric REALLY a psychopath, though?)

IMHO he was not a pyschopath

Eric or Dylan?

astrospace92 wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

Kinda jumping off of this...do you think that if Dylan would have survived it would have fueled his "god complex"?  I think it might have

Totally! And I think he'd be pleased with himself that the unnamed girl he was "in love with" would now know he exists. Perhaps he'd even believe she'd reach out to him. I'm sure both boys were well aware that mass murderers IE Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez had an abundance of admirers.

It's easy for his parents to defend a dead man, but with him being alive and being able to voice his grandiose it would be much more difficult.

I'm not psychiatrist, but I do feel like Dylan may have had psychopathic tendencies as well as Eric (was Eric REALLY a psychopath, though?)

IMHO he was not a pyschopath

Eric or Dylan?

Really either...but mostly Eric.

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Lizpuff wrote:

astrospace92 wrote:

Slightly off topic but I wonder if Dylan had stayed alive would he still be seen as the depressed, coerced follower?

Like most of you have said already his parents would have fought tooth and nail to protect his reputation.

Kinda jumping off of this...do you think that if Dylan would have survived it would have fueled his "god complex"?  I think it might have

Totally! And I think he'd be pleased with himself that the unnamed girl he was "in love with" would now know he exists. Perhaps he'd even believe she'd reach out to him. I'm sure both boys were well aware that mass murderers IE Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez had an abundance of admirers.

It's easy for his parents to defend a dead man, but with him being alive and being able to voice his grandiose it would be much more difficult.

I'm not psychiatrist, but I do feel like Dylan may have had psychopathic tendencies as well as Eric (was Eric REALLY a psychopath, though?)

IMHO he was not a pyschopath

Eric or Dylan?

Really either...but mostly Eric.  

I don't believe Eric was a psychopath either.

Nirvana92 wrote:

Eric would have rolled on Dylan for sure. Though Eric was suicidal to an extent the main reason for killing himself was to avoid capture. I think the self proclaimed master liar would have said anything he could think of not to have his freedom taken. A failed NBK with no propane bomb detonations, a measly 13 deaths, and life behind bars would have been THE perfect punishment for Eric. Not only would he have to spend life being told what to do by the authority figures he despised, but he'd also have to deal with all the embarrassment and mockery that would have come from his "macho man" journal/videos being released. He would have been a solidified beta male for the rest of his imprisoned life. Its kind of a nice thought actually. Its too bad he pulled that trigger one last time.

I honestly have no idea about Dylan. I'm of the believe that Dylan was the "man behind the curtain" when it came to the idea of NBK. I don't think Dylan felt true loyalty to Eric. I get the feeling that Eric was just easy for Dylan to tolerate and use. They may have been friends, but Eric was never Dylan's original choice to go NBK with. That fact makes me think that Dylan wouldn't have stayed too loyal if caught. Taking credit for the shooting wasnt nearly as important as dying. Had he been caught he would have definitely tried killing himself in captivity. I don't doubt that at all.

I think that death is more than an ample punishment for any crime. I don't see what can be much worse than death ultimately.Even if you believe in the death penalty, you can only execute someone once.Eric has already been punished for what he did because he died.To me, it doesn't matter that he chose that himself.I doubt the courts would have done worse to him if he's been caught anyway.I would probably rather be dead than spend life in prison but its still hard for me not to see death as the ultimate punishment .