I am late getting my blog done this week partly because I have been helping a crime victim get justice. I hope at some point to be able to share the entire story with you but for today I want to share part of it and not yet name the offender. The offender is in prison for kidnapping and physically assaulting (torturing) a child.
The victim’s mother provided me an official copy of the sentencing transcript where the defendant plead guilty to those crimes. He was sentenced to 3-12 years in prison. It is unclear to all of us exactly how it is determined if the defendant serves 3 years or 12 years or something in between.
The sentence of 3-12 years was handed down after the defendant and his attorney made the case that OCD caused him to torture the child. There was apparently a psychiatrist and a psychologist who diagnosed OCD and prescribed medication for same.
OCD is a mental disorder that involves obsessions or thoughts that keep replaying in a person’s mind and compulsions or behaviors that the person has to repeatedly do to reduce anxiety. For more on OCD see the US NIMH website.
Because I did not remember from my training any association between OCD and violence, I did a search and found this statement in an article summary of two cases of OCD with violent obsessional thoughts, “Both cases were characterized by preoccupation with aggressive thoughts and images, a need for reassurance that they would not act on their impulses, and a history devoid of violent or aggressive behavior.”
Nevertheless the court transcript indicated the Judge and even the DA believed the assessment that the defendant had OCD and that this played a role in his violent behavior. Furthermore they believed this to be a mitigating factor that lessened the sentence. The words of the Judge according to the transcript were, “My gut reaction in a situation where a person does not have OCD and getting treatment and so forth would be to really hammer you hard for a long, long time.”
I spoke with both the victim (who is now of age) and victim’s mother, because they wanted to understand the psychological state of the defendant. I asked them for specific examples of the offender’s behavior and verbal statements relating to both the offender’s contact with reality and symptoms of OCD and psychopathy as measured by the PCL-R. The offender was known to the victims for years and never displayed any symptom of OCD. He is your basic grandiose, charming and manipulative, power motivated psychopath who lacks empathy and remorse. His lack of empathy and remorse were apparent during his sentencing statement.
Both sources were able to give me specific examples verifying that the offender is likely highly psychopathic. There was also some evidence that the offender hallucinates and is paranoid. That evidence was provided by the victims and also by the offender’s statements during the sentencing. A psychotic psychopath is the most dangerous felon there is, want proof, check out Charles Manson.
In reading the transcript which was 45 pages long, I was struck by the observation that everyone in the proceeding seemed to be searching for an answer to the why question. Why did this perpetrator do what he did? In answering the question “OCD” they could maintain their sense of safety. The Judge said to the offender,
“I do believe that at your core you are a good person, this is just a problem you have. In the 10-15 years I have been doing this I have seen relatively few evil people come through the courtroom. Three, I believe, that were so inherently evil that everybody in the courtroom couldn’t wait to get them in the prison system because they hurt everybody they were around. And I don’t believe you are a monster and I respect your religious beliefs and hope they help you heal.”
The offender had convinced the Judge that not only did he have OCD, he was a true believer and constantly asked WWJD! And I mean this literally.
If the mental health statistics are correct and that 80% of offenders have some degree of psychopathy and 25% have the full blown syndrome there are so many sociopaths out in the world that it is likely no life will be untouched by the disorder. However, this Judge feels safe in his little bubble where he has seen only 3 evil defendants in his lengthy career.
It should be mandatory that all Judges receive an officially sanctioned educational program on psychopathy/sociopathy. That would help immunize them against being fooled by sociopaths/psychopaths and their corrupt attorneys.
Ditto to Oxy on the welcome Dessyray.
There are a number of us long termers on this site, ( long term with a PSN that is). I am wondering how long you have been NC? I could barely function by the time I made the leap off the cliff and got out of my fake marriage with the gaslighting on full tilt for at least 15 years. It has been about 18 mos. and I am still fighting the legal battle, altho have had some very lucky breaks, and a judge that ruled in my favor.
Definitely education for the professionals and for all of us would narrow the playing feild for these monsters. I went through three therapists trying to fix the unfixable and they NEVER explored the notion that I might be with a P. One of the big reasons our marriage needed fixing was beause of a major major lie – that caused us to move from my support group etc etc, and he continued to lie about it for 7 years. The therapists??No biggie, that was in the past, move along, nothing to see here.
I think it has become so common place for people in positions of power and control to lie that the sting of the lie’s damage has been lost. The gravity of the moral implications when someone is able to lie constantly is excused somehow, accepted as part of our culture. People have become complacent about evil, jaded about the justice system, jaundiced by politics, and don’t get me started about Wall St. Let’s face it, big business is structered “sociopathically” and big business runs a good chunk of the world.
The judge in the case above did a terrible job of delivering justice. And further more, couldn’t OCD as in his interpretation be faked by anyone, including the most violent P’s?? How I wish we could empty the jails of all the non-violent drug offenders and fill’em up with these guys. Including all the highly successful but criminal P’s wreaking havoc at the highest levels of status and power.
Makes me feel like we who value honesty, trust, compassion, empathy,love,loyalty, and all the other human goodstuff have become an invisible minority. Surrounded by true P’s and others who have acquired the behavior and integrated it into their winner take all, profits above people,he who dies with the most toys wins mentality. Was Gordon Gekko a sociopath in the film Wall St.?
Anyhow, excuse my rant, and welcome again. I am starting to have longer and longer periods of “normal” “peaceful” “happy” – having totally forgotten what that felt like. I hope you will soon be healing and experiencing joy again. Take good care of yourself, induldge in LF, and celebrate that you are finally away from the P.
Peace,
Dear eyes WIDE OPEN,
I think back to the Bible story of what the world was like before “Noah’s flood.” Only 9 people in the entire world worth a flip! sometimes I think it is a good idea God promised in the Bible story not to destroy the world again by a flood—or I would be out building my own “ark.” LOL I agree with you that the world is not necessarily run by the ‘good guys”—even here if Blogo and a few others are examples, but at the same time, I do have faith that there ARE good people in the world and a bunch of them are here at LF. (((hugs))))
Can’t believe Donna did that.
Oxy – I went back to reply to your comment about us LF folks holding hands – was going to tell you it gave me a nice flashback to those old coca cola commercials (“I’d like to teach the world to sing…” ) Anyway, the whole post, comments and all, is missing, so here I am on this thread… Man even thinking bout that commercial 30 + yrs later makes me want a coca cola … brilliant ad, LOL!
Tilly said: “Can’t believe Donna did that.”
Well, I can, and I applaud her. Reading some of the latest comments on some of these threads is like being transported back to the school playground and watching a bunch of immature kiddies squabble.
Could WE ALL PLEASE stop jumping to conclusions based on very little information and if we don’t like the way someone initially presents themselves just don’t respond and adopt a wait and see attitude. This squabbling and tossing barbs is soooooooooo very distracting and it takes away from a very fine message board with informative articles.
Here, here!!! Jen!!!
Is anybody on?
I echo Oxy’s “here. Here”
Until I just read Jen’s explanation of what the deleting comments, etc., I was ready to flee. (And grateful that I have learned to flee instead of freeze.)
I’ll give LF one more chance.
ANewLily,
There is way to much inappropriate stuff going on here tonight.
Witsend, I understand. I hope you did read about my good news, though, and know that I hope good news showers on you soon — I’ll be praying about your problem. God knows what it is.