In 1978, Rodney Alcala of California approached Liane Leedom, who was 17 years old at the time. He struck up a conversation, showed her some of his photographs, and then asked to photograph her. Although he was later convicted of murdering four women and a girl, Rodney Alcala did not kill Liane Leedom.
In 1983, Brian Dugan of Illinois abducted and murdered a 10-year-old girl. The next year he raped and murdered a 27-year-old woman, and the following year he raped and murdered a 7-year-old girl.
Both of these men are psychopaths. They’re both facing the death penalty for their crimes. But last November, at Brian Dugan’s sentencing, defense attorneys argued that because the man had a personality disorder, because he was incapable of experiencing normal emotions like remorse, he should get life in prison, not death.
Kent Kiehl, Ph.D.
The star witness in the plea for leniency was a prominent psychopathy researcher, Kent Kiehl, Ph.D. of the University of New Mexico. Kiehl evaluated Dugan according to the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised—the murderer scored 37 out of 40.
Kiehl also scanned Dugan’s brain using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). The technique measures blood flow within the brain, which is thought to reflect brain activity. It shows which area of a person’s brain “lights up” with different thoughts.
According to Miller-McCune Online Magazine,
The scans show that the psychopath’s brain does indeed look different from others. “This shouldn’t really surprise people,” Kiehl said. “When your behavior is very different, your brain is different.” He estimates that 15 to 20 percent of prisoners in minimum to medium security prisons qualify as psychopaths, while the figure might run as high as 30 percent for those in maximum security.
Kiehl thinks it’s absurd to execute convicted murderers who have malfunctioning brains. “It’s kind of like telling a patient who has dyslexia to go read Faulkner, or something really difficult,” he said. “They have no chance, but you’re going to punish them because they can’t read?”
Kiehl testified about Dugan’s fMRI scans in the sentencing hearing—the first time fMRI evidence was ever used in court. The psychologist was asked if Brian Dugan had a normal brain. He said no.
Mitigating factor
Psychopathy, the defense team said, was a mitigating factor, a reason why Dugan shouldn’t get the death penalty. But why wasn’t it an aggravating factor?
Yes, psychopaths do not feel normal emotions, and perhaps we should feel sorry for them because of it. But psychopaths know the rules of society. Even if they don’t feel any emotional inhibition about raping and killing, they know on an intellectual level that these behaviors are wrong and can get them arrested, tried and possibly sentenced to death.
Other experts espouse this point of view. Stephen J. Morse, a professor of law and neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania was also quoted in the Miller-McCune article:
All the law really requires, he says, is a general capacity to understand and follow rules. “The law doesn’t really ask a lot of us,” Morse said. “How hard is it to know that you shouldn’t kill people, you shouldn’t rape people, you shouldn’t burn buildings that aren’t yours, and you shouldn’t take what doesn’t belong to you?”
Neuroscientific expertise may also become a double-edged sword that could be used against defendants, he warns. “There are going to start to be prosecution experts who are going to come in and tell the jury why this doesn’t have the implications that the defense claims,” he said. “Rather than being mitigating, for example, evidence of brain abnormalities might be aggravating because they will indicate that the defendant is particularly dangerous.”
Capable of choices
Psychopaths do exercise choice. They are capable of controlling their behavior when they want to. Rodney Alcala killed four women and a child, but he did not kill Liane Leedom. Perhaps he killed the others because he thought he could get away with the crimes. But he could have chosen not to kill them either.
A diagnosis of psychopathy shouldn’t be used to get people off. It should be used to convict them and send them away.
For further discussion of these issues, read:
A mind of crime—how brain-scanning technology is redefining criminal culpability, in Miller-McCune Online Magazine.
Science in court: Head case, in Nature.com.
Thank you to the Lovefraud reader BloggerT7165 for sending a link to this story.
Dear BP,
There is no way to predict behavior or choices BEFORE one had done them. There is no scan that can say “this person is a psychopath” and “that person is not.” EVEN if a person is a psychopath, they may not be a killer or a criminal.
BUT…once they have killed/raped/robbed, then they have a HISTORY OF BAD BEHAVIOR to use as a guide to FUTURE BEHAVIOR. Not ALL people with a history of bad behavior will continue the bad behavior, but the majority WILL continue bad behavior. Only 40% of those out on parole will NOT commit another crime before their parole is ended.
So if we look at the rates–let’s say we put 100 rapists in prison for 10 year sentences (about typical time) and let them out in 6 years on parole…so all 100 are on the street now on parole for 4 years—-60 of them will commit another felony within that 4 years. So, then 40 are still out at the end of the 10 years—
So what have we GAINED as a society by letting these 100 rapists out of prison (at all) much less letting them out 4 years before the end of their sentences? We have gained 60+ more crimes, 60 more arrests, 60 more trials to send them back, and how many more lives RUINED by violence committed by these men?
The problem is that it is difficult to PROVE “crimes PREVENTED” by keeping people in prison, and much easier to prove “crimes committed” by people let out.
BP, I think in a way a high level P in prison is in the “happy hunting grounds” for conning and P-games that they like to play of one-up-man-ship over each other and the guards. They get to plan and play con-man games all day and all night. WHAT FUN!
If there are brain scans, and brain patterns, FMRI showing bits lit up and not lit up then perhaps it IS predictable
That for the first time brain-scanning technology is redefining criminal culpability…compare the psychoapth brain with the normal brain…and YOU HAVE evidence of a brain that is likely to commit crimes…and then it’s our responsibility to build in structures to ensure these “brain types” are monitored….
brain scans could be the new fingerprint
The problem is BP, that 1) the “brain scans” are NOT RELIABLE A PREDICTORS OF ANYTHING, and 2) in a free society you can’t put people in prison for THOUGHT CRIMES.
The reason “lie detectors” are not allowed in court as evidence is that they are NOT RELIABLE.
Believe me, BP I have had some THOUGHTS that if they could have been read if and thoughts were felonies, I would have been locked up for life—but I had a CHOICE on whether to bring these thoughts to actions and I CHOSE NOT to act on these thoughts. Therefore I did not become a criminal. No matter what my THOUGHTS WERE, OR MY DESIRES WERE…but my actions were LEGAL.
I WISH the fMRI were reliable I wish that lie detectors were reliable, but unfortunately they are neither accurate nor reliable.
Read the study that BloggerT linked to about the fMRI being done on the DEAD FISH being not different from one done on LIVE HUMANS.
There are people USING THESE SCANS FOR RESEARCH and they are trying to find out if they are or can be reliable, but so far, they are not showing up as either. But even if they were “reliable” until someone has committed a crime, until someone has ACTED on his/her bad impulses (and we all have those), a free country doesn’t imprison them.
The McCarthy era in our country persecuted people for “thought crimes” (thinking positively about the communists) and that was scary enough. Hitler imprisoned people for their supposed thought crimes against the Nazis, and even the US put Japanese people in camps during WWII because they MIGHT HAVE HAD pro Japanese feelings.
People who have actually committed crimes of violence (rape, assault, murder) show that at least in the past they have not exercised impulse control to control their thoughts vs actions and are at STATISTICALLY more RISK for repeating this kind of behavior than others.
Now, our criminal justice system can come in to play with sentencing and monitoring and not violate any one’s rights.
Don’t know if you are an ISAAC ASIMOV fan or not, (an early scifi writer) but he wrote a short story about the “thought” police called “All the troubles in the world” being prevented BEFORE they happened by a large computer and the cops prevented crimes before they happened. If not, read that story I think you would enjoy the irony of it as we question how we can prevent psychopaths from hurting others. Keep in mind too, that not all psychopaths are violent or criminal.
It would be wonderful if we could weed them out of our society, but unfortunately, except in scifi, we can’t. (((hugs))))
I would love to have a brain scan..see what’s in there and take out what is f–ked up, reorganize the good part’s, sort throught some noise maker’s, turn down the volume and breathe easy..mite be eaisier to get a lobotomy and just be done with it tho..
Henry, darlink, if you lifted off the top of your skull so you could see inside, you are just like every other man and there’s a big sign in there that says “I want sex” and in some cases it also says “and beer!” LOL Nah, not so, you are SPECIAL but I just couldn’t resist the chance to poke at ya! Did you guys get any rain? We got about 1 to 1 and a half inches here and boy did we need it.
Weather cooled off and was/is wonderful will have to sleep with a light blanket tonight and the “winder-lights open!” Perfect sleeping weather! Me and the Bud dog side by side–bet he’ll even crawl under the kivers too! And keep me toes-ies warm!
droxer On top of everything else your a mind reader..No rain here but cool front is on the way..just talked to J in kansas and he’s wearing a coat, says the north wind is headed our way – woo hoo – cant wait for a freeze to kill the skeeters but that will be awhile…
It’s interesting to watch tv dramas thorough the lens of understanding the sociopath. These stories are everywhere, making me doubt the 4% of population theory. Although this is not the education thread, it would be informative to view theses storylines or headlines through this lens. 90 degrees yesterday, leaves are turning today.
FearlessPeace:
I am TOTALLY with you on the 4% population estimate. I think it is on a scale, and that the number is actually much higher. Maybe it USED to be 4% but considering the kinds of incidents, the demographic has increased OR it was never properly calculated to begin with. WHO said 4%? How did they derive that statistic? There are a LOT of people with no heart, no empathy, no conscience. My husband is NOT a criminal ONLY b/c he is able to choose. He doesn’t want to go to jail. That is the ONLY reason he hasn’t done certain things that he admits he would do if he could be certain to NOT go to jail. I think there are a LOT of Spaths like him, able to control and choose, but for a reason OTHER than conscience.
OX Drover!
I love that you let the dog sleep on your bed! Makes me giggle thinking about a three dog night! And now, b/c I am of ‘that age”, I’m humming songs. What a great concert that was. Back in the day when rock concerts were so cool. Gosh, except for my spath and my childhood, I’ve had a fantastic life….
48 HOURS MYSTERY ON CBS, about the Rodney Acala rapist murder that took the photos of Liane!