Thought Crimes: The Case of the Cannibal Cop

In October 2012 a NYC policeman called Gilberto Valle was arrested and charged with planning to abduct to kidnap , murder and eat young women . Later convicted the verdict was later overturned and this documentary called THOUGHT CRIMES tells the bizarre Valle story and asks when should discussing something on the internet be treated as a planned crime in the real world

An interesting documentary from Erin Lee Carr but perhaps not as interesting as it could have been . You see the point it's bringing to our attention - when does the internet world enter the real world ? The problem is we now live in the internet age and you can't blame the state for thinking what someone writes in a forum is what they're planning to do in real life . Let's be honest here - there's no such thing as privacy on the internet . You open an account on Facebook you're inviting potentially hundreds of millions of people to spy on you . You've had a terrible time with airport security and mention on a Twitter account that you hope someone bombs the airport you can't really complain if you get a visit from the police . An let's not forget the excuses from TO CATCH A PREDATOR and the British equivilents by Stinson Hunter and Letzgo Hunting where potential predators whine they were in an 18 plus chat room and they didn't believe someone claiming to be under the age was consent was an actual schoolgirl

This is the problem with THOUGHT CRIMES Valle can claim he wasn't going to abduct and murder women he knew but the thing is he did break several codes of conduct . One very important thing Laurie Penny points out is that he accessed a police computer database to get information on women he knew . It's strange that an American documentary feels the need to ask a Brit like Penny for her worthless opinion but she is right in what she's saying and when I'm agreeing her that might tell you something . THOUGHT CRIMES does open a can of worms of sorts but it constantly reminded of what one of the blokes caught on TO CATCH A PREDATOR said "Don't go messing around on the internet because it might really get you in to trouble" . Never a truer word spoken

Gilberto Valle, a New York cop, is a member on a website dealing with sexual fetishes. Together with two other guys they talk about his plans to kidnap 24 women, roast them and eat them. He also makes preparations. But at the same time they all specifically say that it's pure fantasy and none of them actually mean that. The place where he says he has a big oven is actually a basement with laundry machines. He is trialed for conspiracy (not attempt, which is totally different).

Where is the limit between fantasy and actual intent to commit a crime? Can you judge someone based only on his deviant thoughts? Why is it OK for a writer such as Stephen King to write horrible stories about murders, but not for a "regular" guy to have fantasies? This is a very unusual case and a very interesting documentary.

If you're interested to know what happened with the trial after the documentary, you can read about it on Wikipedia.

Highly recommended

First off, I must admit, I stumbled upon this documentary thinking it was a cooking show. Well, let me tell you, it's quite the unique recipe for a night of entertainment! Imagine Hannibal Lecter meets Law & Order, with a sprinkle of 50 shades of strange. It's a feast for the imagination, though not the one you'd expect.

The film's title might sound like a cooking competition gone horribly wrong, but it's actually about the legal intricacies of an ex-cop's online fantasies. The storytelling is as riveting as a suspenseful episode of MasterChef, just without the mouth-watering dishes. Bon appétit, my fellow cinephiles!

This was a strange case and even stranger that this former New York City policeman and his parents would allow themselves to be filmed in such detail to complete this documentary. Not surprisingly there was no formal comments from his former employer, the FBI, the NYPD, nor from his ex-wife and/or her family.

On the other hand, Gilberto Valle, is under a no contact order from his ex-wife, and has been unable to see his daughter. I think the punishment fits his crime.

There should be a law whereby certain individuals are banned for life from accessing anything on the internet. We could call it Valle's Law.

I give this documentary a decent 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.

Erin Lee Carr is quickly becoming one of my favourite documentarians. Everything I've watched that has been directed by her is an incredibly ride.

This case in particular looks at the case of 'thought crimes' and when such a thing turns from a fantasy, into a reality.

I'm still caught up about how to feel about the 'Cannibal Cop'. While using police databases to collect information on potential victims is truly disturbing and clearly crossing a line; the perpetrator never physically did anything.

Despite which side of the fence you stand on, this documentary does an incredible job at telling both sides of the story, and never feels like it's dragging on.

I'll certainly be viewing more of Ms. Carr's library.