The Devil We Know

I'm sure there are some professors out there trying to determine why some people will go all the way and commit criminal acts such as rape, child abuse and murder while most people would stop short of any such things. Bells ringing upstairs. A conscience. A sense of what's right and what's wrong and, for some, the fear of getting caught and the fear of jail.
But, no doubt, the devil is within all of us. We all know about anger, rage and tons of other components with "the devil made me do it" tags attached to same.
It's within us. I don't think Rousseau was right about Man being born pure and then corrupted by society. Excuse me, but there is something innate there. that "clean slate" proposed by some Greek philosopher is not so clean. That nastiness is there. It is a daily battle for all of us to keep it in check. Of course, fear of retribution helps a lot too.