Psychopathic Violent Offenders: Article Analysis

Expert witnesses from the case of Kjeldsen (1981) state that even though psychopaths are not able to experience remorse or guilt for their victims, they have the mental abilities to appreciate the nature and quality of the actions (Verdun-Jones, Criminal Law in Canada, 2015, p. 209). That is, in other words, psychopaths are to have capabilities to understand as well as foresee the physical consequences of their actions, despite not being able to understand the psychological damage created towards their victims (Verdun-Jones, Criminal Law in Canada, 2015, p.

Due to its primary role in processing memory and emotional reactions, over the last decade and a half psychologists have been linking the amygdala to psychopathy. It is involved in aversive conditioning and instrumental learning and is thus involved in all the processes that, when impaired, produce the same functional impairments displayed by psychopaths. Two famous studies conducted by Tiihonen and Kiehl respectively have confirmed this. Tiihonen used a volumetric MRI to test and confirm the positive correlation between low amygdaloid volume and a high degree of psychopathy in violent criminals (measured by the Hare checklist-revised) while Kiehl used a functional MRI to prove reduced amygdala response during an emotional memory task in individuals who scored high on the Hare checklist-revised. However, both these studies along with numerous others were conducted using violent offenders as subjects rather than individuals with psychopathy. Although many psychopaths do exhibit violent tendencies, not all violent offenders are necessarily psychopaths. A study conducted by Raine is one of the few that did focus only on individuals exhibiting psychopathy. In his study Raine was able to show reduced prefrontal grey matter in his test subjects. Unfortunately though, he was unable to differentiate between grey matter in different regions of the prefrontal cortex. It is however clear that there is one region of the frontal cortex that could be

However, more recently, a study led by King’s College London has claimed that there are differences between the brains of psychopaths and other criminal offenders diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. Dr. Nigel Blackwood who led the research is quoted as saying “We describe those without psychopathy as 'hot-headed' and those with psychopathy as ‘cold-hearted’.” This statement shows a clear distinction between what should be interpreted as a lack of self-control and ability to repress impulses and what should be diagnosed as psychopathy.
The study took MRI scans of 66 men, two thirds of which were offenders who had been diagnosed with antisocial personality whilst the other third were non-offenders considered to not have any personality disorders. Of the 44 offenders, 17 met the diagnosis criteria for psychopathy (ASPD+P) assessed by the guidelines stated in the DSM-IV. Researchers saw that the members of the study diagnosed as psychopaths had notably less grey matter in areas associated with moral behaviour and understanding other peoples’

The mind of a serial killer can be very interesting in being able to find out what makes them want to do what they do. Knowing if someone was abused as a child and if this makes them more likely to become a serial killer or not become a serial killer is something I was very curious to learn about. Something that happens in a person’s childhood can affect the way they act when they become adults. I found two sources talking about childhood abuse and serial killers. The first source was an internet article entitled “Serial Killer Motives” found on the website How Stuff Works and was written by Shanna Freeman. The second source I found was a video entitled “Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer” which is found off of the website Big Think. This

December 11, 1978, Robert Piest was reported missing by his mother. He was last seen meeting John Wayne Gacy for a potential job. On December 21 they searched Gacy's house finding bodies hidden under the house,garage and later found more in the Des Plaines River. The young men were lured by false jobs and were sexualy assulted and later strangled and buried. Over 33 bodies of missing boys were found in Gacy's house. Gacy is not the only one in the world who has taken the life of many innocent people. Over the many years bodies have been found mutilated and sexualy assulted. These bodies have been the subject of one hostility and violence, a killer. Serial killer have been around for very long but the secret to their wrong doing is only being opened in recent years. The advancement in technology has opened opportunities to find the cause for these awful killings.Serial killers are created from birth but proceed to rise mental illness, brain injury and child abuse corrupt their mind and life pushing them to kill.

In our readings, we Define Visionary serial killers as someone who commits incomprehensible active serial fatal victimization. We described the crime scene as chaotic.

The year was 2013. A 31 year old man attacked his ex- girlfriend with a knife outside the social services building where they was suppose to get help with their son. The man had traces of seven drugs, three of them was heavy anti-anxiety medicines. This mans diagnosis is Antisocial personality disorder with psychopathic , narcissistic and paranoid traits. But what happened with him after his killed his ex-girlfriend? Well, he got his punishment - 18 years in prison.

According to studies led by King’s College researchers, it has been confirmed that “psychopathy is a distinct subgroup of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)” (Gregory et. al n.p) and similarly to psychopathy, the more severe ASPD behavioral patterns are, the symptoms can be referred to as sociopathic or psychopathic. Furthermore, according to Nigel Blackwood, Ma, MD.MRCPsych, “MRI scans...found that psychopaths had structural brain abnormalities in key areas of their ‘social brains’” (Gregory et. al n.p). The areas of the brain, in which are deficient in psychopaths, are important when comprehending an individual emotions’, intentions, and moral

The researchers, based at King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, said the differences in psychopaths' brains mark them out even from other violent criminals with anti-social personality disorders (ASPD), and from healthy non-offenders. The study showed that psychopaths, who are characterised by a lack of empathy, had less grey matter in the areas of the brain important for understanding other people's emotions.

As stated in Science Daily’s article Brain Difference In Psychopaths Identified, psychopaths’ uncinate fasciculus have a large reduction in the integrity of the particles that compose it. The uncinate fasciculus, UF for short, connects the amygdale and the orbitofrontal cortex. The amygdale is responsible for one’s emotions, such as fear and aggression, whereas the orbitofrontal cortex is the region in the brain that deals with decision making. Researchers Declan Murphy, Michael Craig and Marco Catani from the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London used a DT-MRI to analyze psychopaths’ UFs compared to non-psychopathic peoples’ UFs who have the same age and IQ. As I had noted, psychopaths’ UFs were incomplete and abnormal. Researchers

The events of the past can hold a great influence on the actions and behaviors of the future. From being raised in a supportive and loving home, to one that is full of neglect and abuse, each event can potentially impact the future of an individual. In the case of serial killers, there has been some debate on whether the evil ones are made or born; does it happen because of a genetic factor, environmental factor, or is it simply they addicted to the feeling of slaughtering another individual’s life? Although, the most important key in finding the truth deals with the past and shapes the outcome of the future. Upon viewing in a psychological stance, there is no clear understanding of why one aspect that most serial killers share, namely

Psychopaths can seem just like you or me, but when you are not around them this is when their mental disorder kicks in. Psychopaths that have been put in jail committed three times as many crimes per year then non-psychopaths. 97% of convicted psychopathic criminals cause at least one violent crime compared to 74% of non-psychopaths. Psychopaths are shown to be more violence throughout their entire life compared to a regular people. Psychopaths tend to have a greater chance of failing on parole and mandatory supervision and have a faster rate of failing then non-psychopaths. Psychopathy predicts recidivism on conditional release as well as or better than do actuarial risk instruments. Psychopaths recidivate at a rate of three to four times higher than that of non-psychopaths.

To understand the differences it is crucial to understand the function and the structure of the parts of the brain responsible for psychopathy. One of the two main parts of the brains that is crucial in this excursion is the amygdala. The amygdala abuts the anterior part of the hippocampus. It is located within the temporal lobe of the brain and takes on the shape of almond (Blair, 2008). Given that they are found on the temporal lobe, there is one on each side of the brain (Wright, 2016). This is the part of the brain that helps people respond instinctively when faced with life threating situations that would be considered to require survival techniques or skills as well as impulses. When one is faced with a threat, they experience fear and in response they prepare for the emergency. It is also the part of the brain that responsible for experiencing fear; sadness, anger, aggression and anxiety among other emotions as one interact with the environment (Blair, 2008). As such it is very important in emotional learning, such as understanding and experiencing emotions. In light of learning, when one is young, they are taught about avoiding hurting other people. Relative to emotional learning, people learn to mirror the emotions of the others around them and hence when another person is hurting the brain is able to interpret the same and internalize the emotion associative (Blair, 2008). In the case of the psychopaths, they are not able to internalize this effect of understanding

To begin, the article by real clear policy stated that murder isn't a nationwide problem. After reading the article I've been facts with the facts and statistics proving that murders tend to happen in places of poverty or overpopulation. In fact, the article said that USA can be split up into three types, the first being where no murders are committed, the second being where little are committed and lastly, where murders are very common. I believe that depending on the conditions such as poverty, crime rates as well as gun rights or laws in an area will determine the commonality of violence and murder.

Behavioral neuroscience or biological psychology employs the principles of brain pathology to the study of human behavior through genetic, physiological, and developmental operations, as well as, the brain’s capacity to change with experience. Since the second world war, crime was largely attributed to mostly economic, political, and social factors, along with what psychologists termed at the time, the “weak character” of mental disturbance, and brain biology was rarely considered. However, new advances in neuroscience and technology have allowed a number of studies that link brain development, impairment, and injury to criminal violence. This emerging field of psychology explores the brain at a microscopic level, focusing studies on the roles that the brain’s neurons, circuitry, neurotransmitters, and basic biological processes play in defining and molding all human behavior.