NCJ Number
227920
Journal
Criminal Justice and Behavior Volume: 36 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2009 Pages: 761-777
Date Published
August 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study investigated the effects of psychopathy on homicidal post offense behavior, denying the charges at court, appealing the lower court conviction to a higher court, and final sentencing.
Abstract
The results, indicate that psychopathy was associated with an increased tendency for offenders to leave the scene of a homicide, deny responsibility for the crime, receive a reduced sentence, and successfully appeal sentences to a higher court. Given the risk that psychopathic offenders pose for serious crime and violence and their potential to manipulate the criminal justice system, there was cause for concern. It was recommended that a better understanding of psychopathy and an appreciation of its role in the criminal justice system would help facilitate the evaluations of offenders and forensic patients that decisionmakers conduct. This study investigated several ways in which psychopathy was associated with variables that were presumably influenced by impression management, namely, behaviors, events, and decisions. The variables include post offense behavior, the offender's self-reported reason for the crime, the outcome of appeals of a lower-level court's decision, and the final sentencing decision. The study also examined the association between several individual traits of psychopathy and the denial of charges and the sentencing decision. The study consisted of a sample of 546 offenders prosecuted for homicide and convicted in Finland during the period of 1995-2004. Tables, note, and references