Crime and Punishment

In Dostoyevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment the main character plots and carries out the murder of an old woman who has a considerable amount of money in her apartment. After killing her, he steals the money. He argues that

She is a malicious old woman, petty, cantankerous and scheming, useless to herself and to society (which happens to be true), and her life causes no happiness to herself or to others; and Her money, if found after her death, would only fall into the hands of chisellers anyway, whereas he would use it for his education (no doubt at Brandman University).

Putting aside for a moment the small detail that the murder is a crime – is this action justified in some way? Yes or no and why? There is one catch; the only sources you can use to buttress your arguments one way or the other must come from this week’s readings and video clips.