Yesterday I happened to be watching CNN as the verdict in the Casey Anthony trial was announced. Like much of America, I was stunned that she was acquitted. From the reports I’ve seen about Anthony’s pathological lying and lack of concern about her missing daughter, I am confident that she exhibits sociopathic traits. A criminal profiler came out and said on national television that she is a psychopath. See:
Profiler says letters show Casey Anthony to be a psychopath
All of us at Lovefraud know what sociopaths/psychopaths are capable of. So I was more stunned by one of the so-called CNN pundits, Dr. Frank Farley, who came on the show later. He said that the prosecution’s theory of Casey Anthony’s motive for murder was ludicrous. No mother, he claimed, would kill her child simply so she could go out and party.
Farley actually posted his views in a blog piece on CNN, in an article called Infanticide in order to party: A nonsense motive. He wrote:
No credible motivational psychology that I know of would support that a single mother who seemed to love her child and who had lots of back-up parenting, in the grandparents and perhaps even from a brother, would go through the careful planning and complex, unpredictable, scary process of killing and disposing of her child in order to get a bit more free time.
This could not be true, unless she was seriously mentally ill, and no available evidence showed that. To go against that deep human instinct to take care of a child, and instead kill that child, demands a very significant reward in the opposite direction, and partying doesn’t rise to that level.
What sane human being could wake up in the morning and say, “Gee, I could have a fun time if I killed my daughter.” There was also no evidence that Caylee was a difficult child whose behavior could lead her mother into a homicidal rage. This whole scheme goes against our deepest instincts rooted in thousands of years of evolution.
Obviously, the guy knows nothing about sociopaths. These disordered individuals have no love motivation. They are capable of killing for the flimsiest of reasons. Take the case of Diane Downs, cited in Dr. Robert Hare’s book, Without Conscience. She shot her three children in 1983 so she could carry on an affair.
ABC News recently aired interviews with Diane Downs, along with a clinical diagnosis: psychopath. Watch the videos here:
1983 Video: Mom who shot kids speaks on ABCNews.go.com.
Professor Farley
Now here’s what is really scary: Frank Farley, Ph.D., is a psychologist and professor at Temple University, and former president of the American Psychological Association. He teaches educational psychology to graduate students. Here’s his biography:
Frank Farley, Ph.D., Temple University College of Education
Farley has come up with this goofy theory of “Type T Personalities.” The “T,” he says, stands for “thrill-seeking,” and certain people are driven to a life of constant stimulation and risk-taking. In fact, he recently wrote an op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times, claiming that this is why politicians cheat on their wives. I mentioned it in a recent blog post:
More on powerful men behaving badly
Actually, cheating politicians are probably displaying their sociopathic tendencies—grandiosity, overactive sex drive, recklessness, sense of entitlement. But Farley doesn’t get it. He also doesn’t get that it is quite possible for a woman to kill her child for barely any motivation.
And this is what he is teaching to his educational psychology students. No wonder so many people do not know that the sociopathic personality disorder exists.
Sky: excellent post on Farley! I agree. Little story: Satan and a demon were talking to each other. Demon said: “Let’s really trash God and make these humans see all this evil and not believe in God.” “No, said Satan: “That won’t work, let’s be covert, cool and make them believe we don’t exist, that will work better.”
skylar:
Well, I did not want to say it, so I am glad you did! 🙂
Sicko is right. Geez!!!!!
Redwald,
Great post (as always!) and I totally agree with you on this…..
I watched part of the TV show but had to get up and leave during the last of the interview with that blond nursing student’s interview. The woman had absolutely NO sense about anything or what it took to “prove” murder—because she didn’t know the EXACT cause of the baby’s death, then nothing else mattered. MY goodness, what an idiot!
I have little doubt that Casey is a psychopath, but her parents are amazingly dysfunctional and I have a feeling that “that apple” (Casey) did not fall far from the parental tree. Whether or not her father molested her (and actually, I’m not going to say that I believe it or don’t believe it, because I don’t know) that is not what made her kill her child, or “grieve” (as her attorney says) by going out dancing and having a good time like nothing had happened. LOL
I am so sorry that poor child had to live for her entire life with such people, and to be born to such a mother, but she is out of harm’s way now….and if nothing else, her mother and her grandparents will be social outcasts forever, there is not a dirty, nasty secret that they have that has not been exposed to the universe, so if nothing else, their lives are ruined….so they all do indeed get some “justice” for that innocent child’s death.
Ox: I fear they won’t suffer all that much isolation. These P’s are very skilled at reinventing themselves. Casey, I really feel will totally reinvent herself. I foresee them all selling their stories to as much media as possible, making money and going where things are quiet and people may not know that much about them. Casey may marry; new last name ….too many ways of profiting from this and reinventing themselves.
Who knows: she may petition the courts for a name change saying the name is a stigma that she cannot see any peace, work….I could see the courts granting that, after this verdict.
But can’t the judge prohibit any of them making a profit from this? I thought I heard of this before.
Nope, she and everyone else can profit, since she was acquitted! Now, what say we about the jury?
Twice Betrayed:
Oh, I see. DUH! I guess that “kind of” makes sense since she was acquitted.
I really don’t know what to say about the jury other than I am greatly disappointed. They did what they thought they had to do because they felt like it wasn’t proven. But if I was on that jury…it would have been hung because I would have not caved.
Louise: I do hope you are correct on that jury……..I would not like to think otherwise….
But, since one juror bright and early this AM was ready to answer any questions for a PRICE….and he was offered starting at five figures, it certainly makes one wonder. Seems/looks like EVERYONE right down to the meter reader that found Caylee’s body is looking to profit from this blood money.