Would you become pen friends with an Inmate?

[Cuchculan]

There are a lot of serial killers in prison with an IQ well above the average person. Plus other types of prisoners too. Ones who scam people. They need to have a good head on their shoulders for what they are doing. The below average prisoners would be from mainly lower class areas. Probably drug abusers. No education to speak of. I agree that these types of prisoners would not make for good pen friends at all. The smarter ones are probably better schooled than any of us. Their crimes go undetected for many years. Is by luck they are caught.

[Antidote]

There are a lot of serial killers in prison with an IQ well above the average person. Plus other types of prisoners too. Ones who scam people. They need to have a good head on their shoulders for what they are doing. The below average prisoners would be from mainly lower class areas. Probably drug abusers. No education to speak of. I agree that these types of prisoners would not make for good pen friends at all. The smarter ones are probably better schooled than any of us. Their crimes go undetected for many years. Is by luck they are caught.

Well, serial killers on the whole, are probably not quite as smart as you think: https://www.scientificamerican.com/a...rsist-excerpt/

The reality is that most serial killers who have had their IQ tested score between borderline and above average intelligence. This is very consistent with the general population. Contrary to mythology, it is not high intelligence that makes serial killers successful. Instead, it is obsession, meticulous planning and a cold-blooded, often psychopathic personality that enable serial killers to operate over long periods of time without detection.

Probably it was unusual and high profile cases that were heavily covered by the media that created that impression of genius serial killers.
Generally, low IQ is a risk factor for criminal behaviour hence the majority of the criminal population are pretty dumb.

[lethargic nomad]

Dumb and low impulse control.