Diagnosing the Criminal Mind

Running head: DIAGNOSING THE CRIMINAL MIND

Diagnosing the Criminal Mind

Bridgit C. Didier

Regis University

DIAGNOSING THE CRIMINAL MIND 2

Abstract

Dr. Robert Hare defined a psychopath as a “social predator who charms, manipulates, and

ruthlessly plows their way through life …completely lacking in conscience and empathy, they

selfishly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms, and expectations

without the slightest sense of guilt or regret” (Bartol & Bartol, 2011, p.171-172). Psychopathic

criminals are high-risk, high-density offenders; being able to understand their personality and

behavioral traits that place these individuals at risk can assist in creating more effective

intervention and treatment programs as well as develop appropriate investigative and

management strategies for dealing with them effectively and responsibly.


Diagnosing the Criminal Mind

In 2003, Derrick Todd Lee was arrested putting an end to a decade long killing spree that

terrified individuals throughout southern Louisiana. For several years Lee was able to evade

capture and even identification as the “Baton Rouge Serial Killer,” taking with him the lives of

seven local women and the attempted murder and aggravated rape of one survivor. It came as

quite a shock to those who knew Lee; he was known to be charming and charismatic, likeable

and even pleasant to be around. It is these qualities that he utilized to manipulate others into

trusting him, to function in society, and ultimately to commit homicide; the qualities of a

psychopath. Dr. Robert Hare, expert in research and investigation of psychopathy, designates

psychopathy as the most dangerous of personality disorders. The term itself refers to a cluster of

emotional, psychological, and antisocial traits and behaviors; and those who display these

behaviors, psychopaths, are often violent and predatory in nature, they lack in conscience and

suffer severe emotional detachment (Hare, 1993). Being able to recognize factors that place

individuals at risk for antisocial and psychopathic behaviors can assist in creating more effective

intervention and treatments programs as well as assist in creating profiles of those individuals

who are at risk of committing violent and/or deviant criminal offenses.

Evolution of Psychopathy

Psychopathy can be traced to early nineteenth-century research where it was traditionally

utilized as an explanation for aggressive and/or irresponsible behavior. French psychiatrist,

Philippe Pinel, was the first to introduce the modern view of psychopathy by classifying this

behavior as “mania without delusion, or psychological disturbance without thought disorder”; he

also was one of the first psychiatrists to introduce more humane ways of treating psychiatric


patients (Horley, 2014). Dr. James Cowles Prichard, an English physician, specialized in

psychiatry and was influential in making early attempts to categorize psychiatric disorders,

especially a distinct form of mental illness which he termed moral insanity. According to

Prichard, moral insanity indicated an emotional basis of psychological disturbances rather than

an intellectual basis for a disorder; this alluded to the concept of what is now considered as mood

disorders (Horley, 2014). In the late nineteenth-century, Cesare Lombroso, an Italian physician

and forensic psychiatrist, believed there was a similarity between moral insanity and his own

concept of ‘born criminality’, the notion that individuals have physical attributes of an

underlying genetic condition that makes them susceptible to commit antisocial and/or criminal

acts. Despite the controversial nature of Lombroso’s theory, his avid research landed him the title

of father of modern criminology (Buzina, 2012).

The modern understanding of psychopathy was brought to the forefront of criminological

research in 1941 by psychiatrist Dr. Hervey Cleckley. He became one of the most significant

contributors in the field due to his landmark work, The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify

Some Issues about the So-Called Psychopathic Personality. The concept behind Cleckley’s

work was a scale of sixteen criteria that described characteristics of a psychopathic personality,

such as possessing superficial charm in order to manipulate others, lacking in social intelligence,

without a sense of responsibility, no sense of guilt, self-absorbed, and possibly dangerous

(Horley, 2012). Centered on concepts introduced by Cleckely, Canadian psychologist Dr. Robert

Hare developed the Psychopathy Check List (PCL-R) in the 1970s. This psychometric tool is a

questionnaire based on interviews and information gathered from forensic psychiatric records.

Designed to access psychopathic traits Hare's PCL-R checklist looks for specific characteristics

such as glibness or charismatic charm, narcissistic grandiosity, need for constant stimulation,


shallow affect, parasitic lifestyle, sexual promiscuity, manipulative, and extreme lack of remorse

or guilt. The scores are then utilized to predict the likelihood of violent behavior in individuals,

risk for criminal re-offense and probability of rehabilitation (Buzina, 2012).

Antisocial versus Psychopathic Personality

Diagnosing the criminal mind has been an ongoing struggle for mental health

professionals, researchers, and criminologists for several decades. There continues to be

considerable confusion surrounding the diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder and

psychopathy; both have overlapping diagnostic criteria however, they are two distinct disorders.

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA), antisocial personality disorder and

psychopathy are both considered personality disorders, chronic conditions that appear in late

adolescence and involve widespread dysfunctional patterns of behavior and cognition

(Thompson, Ramos, & Willett, 2014). Antisocial personality disorder (APSD) is a chronic

destructive and dysfunctional way of thinking, disregard for right and wrong, frequent lack

empathy and contemptuous of the feelings, rights, and sufferings of others. Psychopathy is a

personality disorder characterized by deficits in both personality and behavior. It encompasses

traits such as lack of conscience, manipulative behavior, grandiose sense of self-worth,

callousness, impulsivity, poor behavioral control, and lack of remorse. Psychopathy has not been

officially recognized as a personality disorder in the last four editions of the Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM); however, ASPD is included and is its closest

counterpart. Ironically, when ASPD was first introduced into the DSM–III, it was modeled after

psychopathy (Few, Lynam, Maples, MacKillop, & Miller, 2015).


The criteria for ASPD and psychopathy are both associated with antisocial behaviors;

however, Dr. Robert Hare, leading expert on psychopathy today, does distinguish between the

two asserting that diagnosing APSD is often dependent on a record of criminal behavior whereas

psychopathy is more geared towards the personality traits associated with criminal behavior

(Gurley, 2009). Researchers have indicated that psychopathy is evident in a specific cluster of

characteristics and traits that manifest in early childhood and continue to develop and evolve

until adulthood at which they are unable to be altered. The majority of psychopaths are

impulsive, lack empathy, guilt, or remorse, have poor behavioral controls, are stimulation

seeking, sexually promiscuous, a callous disregard for others, and tend to exploit, manipulate,

and engage in predatory behavior. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) estimates that

psychopaths make up approximately one percent of the general population. They represent all

genders, races, socioeconomic backgrounds, and cultures; understand right from wrong; rarely

become psychotic unless they also have a co-occuring mental illness or using drugs and/or

alcohol; and although psychopathy is typically manageable, it is not curable (2012).

Criminal Psychopaths

Psychopaths differ from one another in regards to the severity of their condition. Not all

psychopaths are criminals; however their defining characteristics place them at high risk for

committing crime and violence. Psychopaths lack many of the characteristics that are crucial for

deterring antisocial and violent behavior, such as empathy, close emotional bonds, fear of guilt

and punishment. In addition, their egocentricity, sense of entitlement, impulsivity, lack of

behavioral inhibitions, and need for control, pave the way for antisocial and criminal behavior.


As with other mental illnesses, there is a continuum of psychopathy that incorporate individuals

who are highly psychopathic and display several traits to individuals who display fewer traits and

have a milder form of the disorder. The PCL-R is a remarkably valuable tool in assessing

psychopathy because it is considered to be the best single predictor of criminal behavior in

children and adults, as well as predict the probability of recidivism and rehabilitation (Buzina,

2012). According to Hare (1998), criminal psychopaths are qualitatively different from non-

psychopathic criminals because they have distinctive criminal careers with respect to the number

and type of antisocial behaviors they commit, as well as the ages at which they commit them.

Criminal psychopaths commit a persistent, frequent amount of diverse violent offenses which are

often associated with sexual violence. They take more unconventional, brutal, and sadistic

measures to carry out their offenses and appear to be motivated more by thrill seeking and

excitement (Bartol & Bartol, 2011).

The PCL-R has been providing empirical research in assessing a psychopathic

personality disorder for approximately forty years. The average non-psychopath typically will

score around a five or six on the PCL-R, white-collar psychopaths score around the mid-

twenties, and a score of thirty is the minimum score for the diagnosis of a criminal psychopath

(Hare, 1998). Hare’s (1998) extensive research into criminal psychopaths has also indicated that

psychopaths are more likely to commit premeditated than impulsive crime, despite their

impulsive personality traits and psychopaths are three times more likely to violently reoffend

than non-psychopathic offenders.


Case Study: Derrick Todd Lee

Derrick Todd Lee was born November 5, 1968 in the small south Louisiana town, St.

Francisville, where he was raised by his mother, Florence Lee, and step-father. Lee’s mother was

known to be a short-tempered, domineering woman who believed in harsh discipline for her

children and allowed it to be carried out by their step-father. Lee’s biological father, Samuel

Ruth, was absent for the majority of his life. His father was known to be a very troubled man

who suffered from major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia; his behavior

became increasingly psychotic throughout the years and he was institutionalized after being

charged with attempted manslaughter of his second wife in 1991(Stanley, 2006). As a child, Lee

required constant attention and direction because he was a hyperactive and restless; as he got

older this restlessness manifested itself in to peeping into neighbors windows and mistreating

animals. In an interview with Lee’s older sister, it was established that Lee was slow to develop,

urinated in his bed well into early adolescence, and continued to suck his thumb until high

school. Academically Lee struggled; he was enrolled in special education classes for the greater

part of his schooling due to his inability to learn at the same level as his peers and he underwent

speech therapy. His sister recalls that Lee suffered intense embarrassment from his status as a

special education student and his classmates would bully and tease him, often calling him

‘retard’ and ‘stupid’” (Stanley, 2006, p.54). Research has indicated that this type of negative

school experience combined with stressors such as harsh parenting and lack of parental warmth

and an individual’s own hyperactivity, callous and unemotional traits, are all to be considered

childhood risk factors of psychopathy.

In 1988, Lee married his high school girlfriend and they quickly had their first child.

Shortly after, Lee began to roam local highways and frequent local bars after work often buying


women drinks and propositioning them for sex, quickly earning a reputation as a womanizer. The

awkward shyness Lee once exhibited as a teen had now transformed into an insatiable pursuit of

women and sex (Stanley, 2006). After Lee and his wife had their second child, Lee’s aggressive

and abusive tendencies towards his family began to materialize and he began an extramarital

relationship with another woman, whom he also fathered a child with. Despite having these two

separate lives and intimate relationships with two women, Lee continued to frequenting bars and

stalk women. Cleckley found that narcissism is always present in a psychopath and is

fundamentally unmodifiable because they are unable to feel genuine, meaningful affection for

others. While they may be skillful at mimicking affection, true emotions, loyalty, and

compassion are foreign (Bartol & Bartol, 2011).

The APA described an antisocial psychopath as an individual who has displayed

consistent and chronic antisocial behavior that began in early childhood and is characterized by

the personal anxiety, intolerance, depression, resistance to authority, and inability to

continuously function in activities (Buzina, 2012). Lee’s criminal history began at the early age

of eleven when he was caught peeping into the windows of relative’s and neighbor’s houses. At

the age of thirteen he was arrested for burglary and vandalizing a local candy store. Three years

later at the age of sixteen, Lee was arrested for attempted second-degree murder after pulling a

knife on another teenager during a fight; charges were dropped and Lee was released. By the age

of seventeen, Lee’s voyeuristic behavior became more aggressive to the point of obsession

(Stanley, 2006). Lee’s criminal history as an adult is extensive and represents diverse criminal

acts ranging from disturbing the peace and stalking to resisting arrest and attempted first degree

murder of his girlfriend and battery against his wife (Bell, n.d.). Each time Lee was arrested,

charges were either dropped or he was able to receive a plea bargain of a lesser sentence,


suspended sentence, or probation with a court order to seek psychological treatment for anger

management, which he did not complete. Research compiled by the FBI (2012) indicate that

psychopaths tend to have a longer criminal history that contains a more diverse and consistently

violent range of criminal acts than non-violent psychopaths. Psychopathic criminals have a

tendency to utilize their skills of deceit and manipulation to deny charges against them and

influence the criminal justice system in regards to the punishment they receive, as well as

persuade parole boards to an early release.

The investigation into Baton Rouge Serial Killer utilized aspects of the crime scenes,

knowledge of the offender’s personality traits, as well as pre- and post-offense behavior to assist

law enforcement and FBI in determining a psychological profile. Lee’s modus operandi (MO)

remained consistent from crime scene to crime scene; victims were attacked at or near their

homes, he was able to enter the victim’s homes without any sign of forced entry, each victim was

sexually assaulted, he utilized a weapon to brutally murder each victim, and he would remove a

personal item from each victim and keep as a trophy. Criminal psychopaths are considered to be

the most violent and persistent of criminal offenders. The violence is more cold-blooded and

callous and research has indicated that when sexual assault is involved it is more often motivated

by non-sexual means, such as anger or sadism (Bartol & Bartol, 2011). Lee’s psychopathic traits,

impulsivity, poor behavioral control, general lack of empathy, and lack of remorse, have

certainly manifested throughout his crimes. Through the use of DNA evidence found at each

crime scene, Derrick Todd Lee was linked to the sexual assault and murders of seven women, as

well as the attempted rape and murder of one survivor.

In an attempt to evade capture, Lee fled to Atlanta, Georgia, where he stayed in a local

motor lodge for about a week. During this time, Lee submerged himself into the local


community, grilling at neighborhood BBQs, setting up Bible study groups, and entertaining

women in his room. Neighbors of Lee’s at the motor lodge were in disbelief when authorities

came looking for a man wanted for murder because they considered Lee “a handsome, charming,

smooth-talking ladies’ man” (Associated Press, 2003). Psychopaths are considered social

predators and are able to charm their way through life impressing others as “friendly, outgoing,

likeable, and alert; they often appear well educated and knowledgeable” (Bartol & Bartol, 2011,

p.175). It is due to this quality that investigators believe that Lee was able to gain entry into the

homes of his victims without force.

Lee has maintained his innocence since his arrest in 2003. During the interrogation

process, he repeatedly spoke in circles never answering a question directly and often quoted the

bible. Mary Ellen O’Toole, retired Senior FBI Profiler and the FBI’s leading expert in

psychopathy, met with Lee on several occasions; however, his uncooperative behavior forced her

to rely on crime scene reports, photographs, and interviews with law enforcement officials and

families of the victims to complete her analysis of Lee’s crimes and psychopathic mind in order

to provide testimony for the State. O’Toole’s assessment revealed:

Lee operated in a high-risk manner, his attacks occurred at times of the day when others

could have been around, his behavior was impulsive and directed at ‘low-risk’ victims

that led lifestyles that would not likely put them in situations in which they could become

a victim of violent crime, as opposed to easier targets … and the attacks displayed a very

consistent pattern which demonstrated Lee’s need for high risk, high thrill, and a sexual

assault. (Louisiana v. Lee, p.48)


Early Intervention

In an ideal situation, mental health professionals would be able to identify individuals

with personality traits unique to psychopathy and intervene in order to reduce their risk of

violence and criminal offending. However, intervention strategies of adults who exhibit

psychopathy personality features has been proven to be especially ineffective. Psychopathic

individuals are known for failure to restrain or modify their antisocial behaviors that culminate in

negative consequences and they appear to have few inhibitions to prevent callous interactions

with others across the life span (Moffit, 1993). This concept proposes a correlation between

psychopathy and life-course persistent offending (LCP), a developmental theory that states that

the roots of antisocial behavior begins in childhood and continue into adulthood, regardless of

the condition or situation the individual faces. LCP offenders “miss opportunities to acquire and

practice appropriate social and interpersonal skills at each stage of development and are plagued

by various psychological and antisocial problems throughout their lifetimes”(Bartol & Bartol,

2011, p. 147). Evidence of LCP offending can be seen throughout Lee’s childhood; his parents

and teachers were very short tempered with his lack of attention, he received harsh punishment

because he would suck his thumb or urinate in his bed beyond the normal age, and he was

rejected by his peers due to his inability to learn at the level they did and inadequacies in speech.

There is also evidence that LCP offenders endure minor neuropsychological disorders, such as

learning deficits and hyperactivity that manifest during adolescence, both of which were

displayed by Lee. Moffit (1993) indicates in her research that LCP offenders make up

approximately five percent of the population but commit over fifty percent of serious and violent

crime in our society and effectively deal with these individuals requires early detection and

intervention.


The general belief regarding the prevention of violent behavior is that the earlier the

treatment, the more effective it will be. This is due to the developmental nature of an individual’s

personality style because problematic behaviors, such as antisocial behaviors and violence, are

easier to treat when an individual is at an earlier developmental stage (Lynam, 1996). There are

typically three intervention strategies involved in an effort to mitigate mental health concerns:

primary prevention is the ultimate goal of preventive efforts because it is the ability to avoid the

issue; secondary prevention strategies are based on early detection and intervention which seek

to interrupt further development of the disorder as soon after onset as possible; tertiary efforts

involve strategies to minimize the consequences of an established disorder (Lynam, 1996).

Focusing on the childhood development of psychopathic features, such as callous and

unemotional traits, and being able to identify those developmental indications is a promising

approach to intervening and developing more effective treatment programs.

Treatment Potential

Psychopathy is a serious personality disorder; however, psychopaths tend to suffer little

personal distress because they see little wrong with their attitudes and behavior. This makes

successfully treating a psychopath rather difficult, if not impossible. Complex disorders with

such deep-seated personality traits as psychopathy have proven rather difficult to treat with

pharmacotherapy and/ or psychotherapy. According to Thomas et. Al. (2014), the use of

psychotherapy has actually been proven to be ineffective in the treatment of psychopathy

because it can actually worsen the psychopathic patient by giving them additional skills to

manipulate and mislead future victims. An evaluation study was held to test the effectiveness of

a therapeutic community versus a prison environment for violent male offenders. 292 male

violent offenders were treated for at least 2 years with the average time spent in the program


being 5 years; 146 were treated in the therapeutic community and the other 146 were sent to

prison. An unexpected discovery was made when the outcome of the study was determined; the

violent recidivism rate of psychopaths in the treatment group was almost one third higher than

those who had been sent to prison. It was speculated that the treatment program raised

psychopaths’ self-esteem and consequently increased aggression (Harris, Rice, & Cormier,

1994).

Most would agree that not all psychopaths can be considered untreatable; especially until

all methods of psychiatric intervention and preventive methods have been attempted. This

author believes that more research is required in the area of early detection of psychopathic

symptoms in childhood or adolescence so intervention strategies can be implemented before the

condition gets to the adult stage in hopes that it might be possible to treat pre-dispositional signs

before they have had a chance to develop.

Conclusion

According to the FBI, “psychopathy has been described as the single most important

clinical construct in the criminal justice system and the need to understand it cannot be

overstated; this includes knowing how to identify psychopaths, the damage they can cause, and

how to deal with them effectively” (2012, p.7). Knowing and understanding the mind,

personality, and behavioral traits of a psychopathic offender can help develop strategies to assist

during complex investigations, such as child abductions, serial sexual assault, and serial

homicide; as well as assist mental health professional in determining the most effective manner

to intervene and treat this disorder.


To date, Lee has never confessed the motivation behind his decade long murder spree.

However, his crimes did expose the motivation of a true psychopath, “he lacked a conscience,

felt no remorse, cared only for his own pleasures in life, and lacked the ability to empathize with

the suffering of others, especially his victims who were merely tools to fulfill his own needs and

desires no matter how perverse or reprehensible they may be” (Levin & Fox, 2007, p.4). Derrick

Todd Lee’s criminal history was extensive, with his earliest arrest being at the age of thirteen,

one cannot help but speculate if the criminal justice system would have dealt with his crimes in a

more uncompromising manner would the women of southern Louisiana have been spared his

madness.


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Diagnosing the Criminal Mind

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