Reason First: American Car Bomb- The Steven Benson Murders

What provoked Stephen Benson to blow up his family in Naples, Florida on Tuesday, July 9, 1985? Was he treading on financial ground that should not have been trespassed? His anger in finding out that his mother, Margaret Benson, the inheritor of The Leaf Tobacco Company fortune (no connection to Benson and Hedges) had cut off his benefits spilled over to uncontrollable rage.

By placing a bomb in the family car, he exhibited a sense of evil desperation. Unlike the young man who is desperate for fortune and can talk and persuade others about his grievances, he committed wickedness. In the blast Margaret, Scott Benson (Steven’s “brother” but really his nephew after adoption) perished. Carol Lynn Benson Kendall, a runner up to be Miss Florida sustained significant burns.

For his role in the entire occurrence, the jury found Steven Benson guilty of murder and sentenced to two life sentences. How could all of this been avoided? Benson, who would be stabbed to death in prison almost 29 years into his prison sentence, could have had just a scrap of rationality.

He could have recognized the fact that selfishness is the virtue that could have saved his family’s lives and stopped Carol from being severely burned. Had he admitted to himself a way to be virtuous and moral and designed a purpose for his life. He could have found a way to demonstrate to his mother that he was worthy of the money.

He could have been a prodigal son and wasted his money on certain items and activities. He could have been the exemplar of investments in founding companies. Or he could have been a playboy. The money was not the problem, just a conceptual scapegoat. He wanted something to blame his sordid actions on while he was still alive.

Authorities found a fingerprint on the bomb which led to his arrest. It’s as if he wanted to be caught. And where else would the bomb have come from other than Benson? He seemed to prove his malevolent point in disastrous fashion.

The impotence that Benson showed spoke of his lack of manliness. Had he been masculine and intelligent, he would have been strong in morality and psyche. He kept his ideations up so much that he developed an improvised explosive device (IED) to devastate who should have been top values in his life.

By acting alone, these ideations would not stop in his brain. His process may have been something like this: I’ve been discovered to misuse the family fortune; mom stopped the flow of funds; I don’t like this; where is the gunpowder and metal tubes?

For his role in the attack on the very people who should have garnered his love and affection and had them reciprocated, he instead turned to irrationality. His mind became warped and searched for a string of destructive actions. He wanted to get rid of Margaret, Scott, and Lynn. While the mother and nephew died, Lynn represented defeating his evil as life still escaped from his monstrous works, though she didn't walk away unscathed.

Benson stood for the murderer who hated his own life so much that he extended to his alleged values. He operated on an unselfish program that could have been corrected. For future arsonists and bombers who yearn to hold on dollars that they never earned or deserved, it is imperative to remember that killing innocents is never the answer.

Benson’s murder in prison only clarified the fact that destruction begets destruction. He killed and it just so happened that he received a similar treatment without all of the explosions and flames.