Would you ever trust a psychopath to provide honest information? The podcast, Serial, is an investigative narrative hosted by Sarah Koenig that follows the story of an unsolved murder case involving Adnan Syed and Hae Min Lee. The podcast displays multiple sides to the story and digs deep to find answers to many of the burning questions. One of the heaviest factors in this case is the possibility that Adnan is a psychopath. Whether or not this is true could affect the outcome of the case greatly in terms of Adnan being released or being sentenced to prison for life. Would being a diagnosed psychopath have any affect on how one would be judged in a court of law? Many valuable pieces of the case are missing. Pieces that can ultimately help decide between who’s telling the truth and who’s not. One of the most difficult pieces of this case regards the accused killer, Adnan’s, mental health. There lies the possibility that he may be a psychopath, one who could deceive others as an …show more content…
There already exists today some type of connection between psychopathy and criminal activity. “Psychopathic individuals are found at elevated rates in prisons and jails, but can be found in community settings as well,” (“Psychopathy: Definitions, symptoms, signs and causes”). Psychopathy can increase the chance of a person being convicted guilty just because of the general image that it portrays. Being a known psychopath can result in false accusations too because just that diagnosis alone can change the outcome of a trial. Being a diagnosed psychopath could easily bring out bias from the jury or judges in a court of law. It can also cause those who suffer from the disorder feel targeted or victimized, possibly resulting in a higher chance of involvement with criminal activity. The higher population of psychopaths in prison can worsen anyone’s perceptions of those
Teachers, friends, classmates, relatives and parents could not believe he kills his girlfriend. The reality sometimes is very hard to face especially when feelings are involved. Parents never will accept that their own child who was raised with comfort, love and support could be capable of murder somebody. Disturbing people could be disguised very well under a charming appearance. Many serial killers were known as decent, brilliant and admired persons. When a teenager is carrying a burden as Adnan was, probably feeling guilty for giving back to his parents, his religion and customs could transform him in another person for a few moments when he felt betrayed, humiliated, dishonored and abandoned by the person for whom he did all this. Then he kill Hae Min Lee in a rage 's attack or probably as Jay said Adnan was planning the murder in detail; that is why the police could not found enough evidences to probe him clearly
On January 13th, 1999, a high school girl from Baltimore, Maryland, Hae Min Lee, disappeared after school. Hae was found just a few miles away in Leakin Park, a few weeks later, where it was determined that the cause of death was manual strangulation. Not long after, Hae’s ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, was arrested and tried for her murder and is now spending his life in prison. After hearing Sarah Koneig’s Podcast, Serial where she went back to re-investigate the trial, it became clear that the jury does not have enough evidence to convict Adnan Syed for the murder of Hae Min Lee for many reasons including, the lack of evidence, lack of motive, and the reliance of memory is not enough to convict Adnan Syed. Evidence is key to solving a murder and in the case of Hae Min Lee’s murder, there was not enough evidence to prove that Adnan Syed killed her.
Instead of questioning Adnan’s character it seems the prosecutors expose him as an outstanding citizen. An honor roll student, part of his school’s athletic programs, an active member in his family’s mosque, and on homecoming court; not quite the killing type. At the end of the trial Adnan’s credibility as an upstanding individual is still
Identifying the mystery of the psychopath can prove to help the them and the general public. Early awareness of the common psychopaths among us will reduce the impact on society. Further research is still needed to better help the psychopath and the general population.
The article Serial killers: II. Development, dynamics, and forensics by Lawrence Miller dives in into the many aspects that encompass the psychological, neurological, and sociocultural elements that underline the average serial murderer. The elements involve childhood upbringing, types of aggression, typical neurochemistry, and subcultural theories. The article manages to include descriptions of the statistical patterns that involve the demographics, and motives that follow serial killers. It also discusses the validity and rationality of the insanity defense in prosecuting these extraordinarily vicious offenders. Serial murderers are an atypical occurrence in the criminal justice system. The uncommon and horrific nature of these crimes are
I agree that psychopaths can exhibit learned knowledge of morality; however, I believe that their moral indifference can be attributed to the brain abnormalities and behavioral deficits. Because these deficits are uncontrollable with respect to the individual, pulling from Levy’s (2008) argument, psychopaths are not responsible for their lack of motivation regarding morality. Additionally, their diminished attention span and inability to gage consequences also play a role in their moral indifference. A psychopath may logically understand that their actions are wrong, but because of a shortened attention span they cannot focus on the many long-term consequences of their actions (Maibom 2005). Thus, they are not responsible for their actions because of a plethora of abnormal brain and behavioral
When we look at how fragile each one of our lives are, we need to take a minute and realize the different characteristics that form us into who we are today. Studies have shown that there are characteristics within the behavior of an individual that can be linked to the specific behaviors demonstrated by an offender that would classify them as a psychopath. Along with other research that looks into an individual’s genetics to see if that plays a role in defining or making a psychopath. John Allen Muhammad, also known as the D.C. sniper, was labeled as a psychopath when he terrorized D.C. for two weeks, taking thirteen victims and killing ten of them. This paper will go over the behaviors that constitute psychopathy, and the behaviors that indicate psychopathic individuals such as John himself. It will also go over John’s life history of what caused him to commit these acts of violence.
One area of research in psychopathy focuses on the set of structures in the brain known as the limbic system, but more specifically on a structure known as the amygdala. According to neuropsychology class slides, the amygdala is involved in emotions and storage of emotions in memory as well as the fear response when encountering threatening environmental stimuli. Osumi and colleagues (2012) note that the affective and interpersonal facets of psychopathy, such as cold-heartedness and lack of empathy, which are thought to be the core features of psychopathy, are associated with reduced activity in the amygdala. This is coupled with the fact that a less functional amygdala is associated with a psychopathic individual’s exhibition of antisocial behaviors, at least in part because he will not perceive the threat of punishment as a consequence of his actions. So whether it be the acts against other people or the acts of justice that may be carried out against the perpetrator, the psychopath will perceive both as less significant, as compared to a non-psychopathic individual. (Osumi et al., 2012)
...res of the psychopaths and gives the reader various examples of these individuals playing out these characteristics in everyday life. A widely used checklist is provided so the reader can get a wide spanning view of what is accounted for when scoring a psychopath. This form of research is very important within the deceitfulness of this population; it allows the professional to ignore their words and examine their actions. Hare made it clear that it is not uncommon for there to be an emotional and verbal disconnect from their actions. With virtually no emotional functioning psychopaths feel no remorse for the offenses that they commit and it is very important that we work towards using the opportunities we have to study and assist these populations; not only for them but for ourselves.
Many studies suggest that there are significant differences in the brain between individuals who possess antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy). While not all people who possess an antisocial personality disorder will become serial killers, every serial killer studied has an antisocial personality disorder; “Neuropsychological testing revealed abnormalities in all subjects tested” (Blake, Pincus, and Buckner 1642). Brain injury, brain abnormalities, or mental illness affects all the serial killers tested. Even if all serial killers had some type of abnormality in the brain, would that mean that they were doomed to become a serial killer? According to the experimental findings discussed in Neurologic Abnormalities in Murderers; 64.5% of serial killers have a frontal lobe dysfunction and 29% have temporal lobe abnormalities. The frontal lobes of the brain “control the essence of our human...
For this paper I plan to first define and outline the features of psychopathy. Then I will explore how traits of psychopathy are measured and present in children and adolescents and subsequently what relation there is between the expression of these traits in both 9childhood and adolescence and later criminality. Finally I plan to conclude my paper with possible interventions to help prevent persistent delinquent and criminal behavior as well as exploring any criticisms of measuring psychopathy and interventions in both adults and children.
The media most often showcases psychopaths as individuals who are inherently evil and dangerous towards themselves and others. Yet, this concept of psychopathy goes far beyond this idea of pure evil and instead necessitates a needed psychological understanding. These individuals, psychopaths, are generally characterized by a lack of empathy and conscience. Indeed, psychopath’s indifference to the repercussions of their actions combined with other characteristics such as hostility and aggression make for a potentially dangerous personality (Lyken, 1996, p.30). In order to identify a psychopath’s recidivism, it is important to differentiate them from sociopaths who, instead of having a psychological impairment that makes it difficult for them to socialize, have been systematically under socialized (Lyken, 1996, p.30). In accordance. psychologists have developed the methods such as the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R) to help identify those with psychopathic tendencies (Walters, 2012, p.409). That is why predictions of recidivism among psychopaths is most efficient when done
According to research, psychopathic behavior can take many forms not all of which are violent. Ultimately psychiatrists say that there are pieces of a brain’s emotional machinery missing. As a result making psychopaths lack empathy, guilt or the ability to simply sow remorse (180rule.com). In an interview with James Fallon, a neuroscientist and neuroanatomist, states that there isn’t an acceptable definition of the word, psychopaths and that some psychologists do not even recognize it as a syndrome (Flatow). The closest way to identify a psychopath is through the Psychopathy Checklist – Revised, commonly known as the PCL-R (Hare). This test is used to determine if an individual has a mid- psychopathic disturbance, moderate psychopathic disturbance or if they are psychopathic (Brinkley). The test is scored on a 3 point scale (0, 1, and 2) with the highest score being a 40 which denotes a prototypical psychopath (Hare). When an individual scores a 30 or above it will qualify the individu...
Contrary to the movie industry’s portrayal of psychopaths, rarely do psychopaths come out in the open and kill their victims with chainsaws or wear disturbing masks. Nor do they act menacing or evil out in public. Rather, most psychopaths attempt to blend into society. A psychopath can be defined as one who uses superficial charm and manipulation to achieve his or her goals, even if it involves committing crimes. They can act quickly and feel neither remorse for committing the crime nor empathy for their unsuspecting victim. As much as they attempt to blend in, psychopaths are unable to fully function in society because they lack some qualities of a “normal” person. In the medical field, psychopathy is not recognized as a disorder. In fact, Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary defines psychopathy as an “obsolete term” (Venes and Taber 1372). In an effort to define psychopathy, multiple psychiatrists attempted to describe i...
Psychopathy is one of the alterations frequently found among offenders inmates according to numerous investigations. The characteristics of this personality disorder lead us to deepen the concept of accountability and the consequences this has on the legal and penal framework. These are some mental disorders that people who commit crime can have: depression: hopelessness and suicidal thoughts; Schizophrenia: hallucinations and delusions; bipolarity: impulsively and risk behaviors. It is difficult to give a conclusion if all the criminals have mental disorders, because many of the studies made were with people deprived of liberty, a circumstance that may promote the development of certain mental disorders, and emotional disorders, borderline personality disorder and dissociation disorders. Serial murderers or sex offenders are often those who suffer from these disorders, because they want a revenge or because they do not know what they are doing, those feelings are repressive.