You would think parole boards would know better. After all, they deal with bad guys all day, every day, and they’re supposed to decide when criminals are sufficiently rehabilitated to return to society. But a study released in January found that when psychopaths in Canada’s prisons were up for parole, they were 2.5 times more likely to win conditional release than non-psychopaths.
The study was conducted by Dr. Stephen Porter from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and published in the Journal of Legal and Criminological Psychology. It looked at 310 men who spent at least two years in a Canadian prison between 1995 and 1997. Most had committed violent crimes.
Ninety of the men were classified as psychopaths. They had committed significantly more offenses than the non-psychopaths. The psychopathic child abusers among them had far more charges and convictions than non-psychopathic offenders.
Yet the psychopaths won the get-out-of-jail-free card much more often than ordinary criminals.
“Despite their long and diverse criminal records and much higher risk posed to the community, psychopaths appear to be able to convince decision-makers throughout the correctional system that they can be reintegrated into society successfully,” Dr. Porter wrote.
Oscar award winning performances
How did they do it? Charm and crocodile tears. The researcher said they put on a good show.
“They use non-verbal behavior, a ‘gift of gab,’ and persuasive emotional displays to put on an Oscar award winning performance and move through the correctional system and ultimately parole boards relatively quickly, despite their known diagnosis.”
And apparently, it wasn’t just the members of the parole boards who were fooled—it was everyone who had any input into the parole decision.
“I don’t want to pick on the (National) Parole Board,” Porter said in an interview. “The parole board gets all kinds of information therapy reports and case management reports and so on. So psychopaths are probably putting on a good show for everyone.”
What happened after the psychopaths won their freedom? They committed another crime. On average, they offended again and were returned to prison after one year, compared with two years for non-psychopaths.
Let’s not berate ourselves
Dr. Porter says that the parole boards and psychologists need help in dealing with psychopaths.
“We need to acknowledge that training in this area is essential and that objective file information is much more reliable than trying to assess performance in an interview context,” he said.
So here’s the conclusion for us survivors: We should never again berate ourselves for falling for a psychopath. After all, the professionals who dealt with these predators every day, and had access to their criminal files, were just as clueless as we were.
For more information on this study, see:
BBC: Psychopaths’ ”˜early release con’
Ottawa Citizen: Psychopaths use charm, lies to fool parole officials
slimone:
Welcome. This site has been a lifesaver for me. There are people on this site from every walk of life, every profession, every sexual persuasion, every… well, you get the idea. Bottom line is, people here are willing to help however they can.
Regarding sociopaths — So true they have so much in common. A common statement on this site is “Are you SURE we weren’t dating/married/involved with the SAME guy?” There may be some variations, but their MOs and timetables are practically cookie cutter. And of course, there is their simply amazing ability to get out of anything.
I am amazed that my attorney had no clue what a sociopath is, not to mention a psychopath. He actually comes to me with questions about them.
So, if attorneys have no clue, judges don’t either. This sad list includes, child advocates, Guardian Ad Litem, most counselors and psychologists; (People who have power over the lives and future of the innocent and the evil).
I found that, psychologists, and LPC’s, got to where they are by studying a book, and passing a test. HOWEVER, most have NO CLUE how these behaviors act out in the “real world”.
A law should be passed that every single person in, or entering all/any human resource, or human service career- MUST become an expert on these disorders. And not just that, but they should all be tested and demoted if they show to be one, themselves.
Dear Ewe,
Yep, they should be forced to take the course, BUT unfortunately too many attorneys, cops, law makers, governors and other people like judges ARE PSychopaths! No joke, that is the sickest part of it all. Find a power position and the more powerful the position, the more the disordered flock to that POWER SPOT. It is almost a JOKE if it weren’t so sad.
With three strikes laws the understanding (and especially the marketing), is wrong. These laws have sometimes come under attack as cruel and unusual punishment. If they were nicknamed “Psychopath Laws”, or similar, the real reason for them might become more apparent to the public at large.
Hi slimone,
So glad you could join us. Here one can let their hair down or like me drink their coffee and read and learn to one’s heart content. I for one believe it the best place to be and the support here is just unbelievable. So again welcome!
slimone,
A belated welcome. While most of the others here are better at support and advice, I’m better at tossing out random ideas that somebody smarter than I might run with. I also dabble in revenge against P’s (I’m a self-trained professional. Do not try this at home).
After I did battle with my last SS, the first thing she did after quitting that job and going on to new, um, ’adventures’, was to find a “staunch group of current supporters”. This included a retired psychologist and an ethical attorney.
I think she panders to emotional needs (weaknesses, as she’d call them) including greed, paranoia, sense of importance, tribalism, community values… anything that makes a person want to do the subtle evil which she manipulates them into doing. In short, I think she: satisfies their need, satisfies their need, then implies they do a thing (which winds up being risky for them but beneficial for her) to satisfy their need.
I’ve learned these ’cult leader sociopaths’ usually leave behind a staunch group of detractors as well. I’d love to be able to figure out how to network them into a resource that authority would pay attention to.
There has to be a way to separate the supporters from the detractors and victims, and give the latter more credibility.
In Women Who Love Psychopaths it says that we are intelligent and successful, extroverted, and very invested in our relationships which is how they hook us. We are not sick or abnormal, a “Princess” who thought only of herself would be of no interest.
I’ve been debating my own situation, mine is in Court ordered counseling and if I should anonymously ask the counselor to run him on the PCR because he is probably conning her. On the other hand, I want to avoid all contact.
Usedabused: There is strong evidence that court-ordered counseling for psychopathic individuals does more harm than good. They learn better skills of manipulation, and they learn how to con the system.
Abusers who AREN’T psychopathic can learn anger management skills, etc. But with the psychopathic, this can even increase the danger for those around them.
I thought the book Women Who Love Psychopaths was a very good book, so I’m not knocking it. However, it is my understanding that the women completed a survey about their own traits, and I do have to wonder how accurate it is simply because I don’t think we always see ourselves as others may see us. Kind of like when a psychopath self reports, how accurate would that be? But even if most victims are extroverted with no emotional or mental health issues, I know I am definitely NOT an extravert. And I doubt that all victims are entirely free of emotional or mental issues. But regardless, of course, it is not a victims fault a psychopath targeted them. I’m just saying I seriously doubt all or even most victims are as stellar as that book makes us sound.
How greatful I am for this site!! 42 years ago I met the Psychopath in my life. We were married 5 years later.The marriage lasted 20 years and ended in 1993. In the interim we both married and divorced. I went to a place in Albany, Ohio called Wellspring – a lovely retreat for deprogramming from cults and abusive (one on one’s) relationships. We were also involved in a religious cult for 16 years of our marriage, so my purpose in going was to be free of the cultic mindset of the Worldwide Church of God. At the time of my going to Wellspring I did not as yet know I had been married to a psychopath. It was while I was there that I was told that my former husband was a psychopath – that the cult had contained his madness and that when he left, the real psychopathic behavior in him manifested itself. I could not at that time handle all of that information at once, and now realize that I needed deprogramming from my former husband. In November of 2008 our daughter invited both of us to her home for Thanksgiving. Long story short, we again began a relationship. It took me a very short time to internalize the reality of who he was. He called yesterday and I told him our relationship was not working for me. He feigned shock and asked if he had said or done anything wrong. I restated that the relationship was not working for me.
It’s interesting that during the 17 years we were apart, I read every book I could get my hands on, including Ann Rule’s books, The Sociopath Next Door, The Betrayal Bond, Hervey Cleckley’s books, Hare’s books, and a book recommended to me at Wellspring called Captive Hearts, Captive Minds – chilling reality!!
When the time came for me to face reality, it was just like something dropped from my head to my heart. I have experienced intense grief washing over me, and feel as if my soul has been raped. We have two children together, and I am greatful they are older, but how does one tell them?
I will purchase the book on women who are attracted to psychopaths. I am looking for support groups and happened onto this site – I went to graduate school and while there took a class on Personality Disorders – still denial!!
Thanks so much for a place to spill grief and hopefully recover. I am attending a 12 step group that I hope can help me heal.