Long read, I'd have to say, we do legitimize crime by medicalizing it. The American Psychological Association was flirting with making Pedophilia a disease, so they could have an insurance code for reimbursement to treat pedophiles! Turning a moral crime into a medical disease. Turning a vicious predatory criminal into an innocent sick victim. How we throw around the word Crazy or Insane does affect our moral view of the world. I think we would rather believe that Putin and Hitler are insane because the alternative is that they are evil people, who know they are evil and choose to do it anyway, which is scary; furthermore, we are people too and capable of evil. That's too close to home. We'd rather ignore our moral fallibility and just slap a label of insanity onto evil people, to isolate them and ignore our inner evil selves. Someone said, having the capacity for evil is what makes a person formidable. Choosing to behave morally is what makes that person a moral force for good. Ignoring the fact that you have wished to kill someone for some trivial slight when you were emotionally angry is very dangerous. Acknowledging your violent feelings while simultaneously knowing that fact that you chose not to act out those violent feelings makes you a strong and safe person.

Beware of the goody two shoes who extolls "I can do no wrong!"