My last post drew some comments about the use of the word psychopath when describing Joran van der Sloot, the lead suspect in the Natalie Holloway disappearance, so I wanted to clarify what I am referring to when I use the terms psychopathy or psychopath.

The age old debate of psychopathy versus sociopathy is not one that can be answered easily. This is mainly because the words are often used interchangeably, and even when the terms are clearly defined by one scholar, another may disagree and choose to use the term in an entirely different fashion. Looking up these terms in dictionaries can lead to more confusion as the definition for psychopathy may include the word sociopathy in its description and vice versa!

A study presented at the recent British Psychological Society Annual Conference revealed that younger jurors are more lenient and sympathetic to offenders with a mental illness than older jurors.

“The study used two groups of participants (the first aged 18 to 30 and the second 50 plus) who were shown videos of courtroom scenes depicting female defendants, either displaying overt behavioral symptoms of borderline personality disorder or not displaying any symptoms to examine whether the two age groups had different attitudes towards the defendants.”

The authors found that the participants from the older group felt that the defendant was “more guilty” than those in the younger group. In addition, they tended to recommend longer, harsher sentences than the younger participants.

“It is an article of jailhouse faith that poor people get what they pay for in lawyers: Nothing.” A recent article in the New York Times gives an inside look at how vulnerable populations (the poor, the mentally ill, etc.) are treated within the legal system.

The article details one woman’s encounters with a public defender’s office; however, her situation is not unique. Low salaries and high caseloads often permeate public defenders’ offices, contributing to the problem of unbalanced representation for disadvantaged individuals.

Gigi Jordan, pharmaceutical millionaire and New York City socialite, requested voluntary commitment to a psychiatric hospital in lieu of jail while awaiting trial in response to the February 5, 2010 murder of her 8-year-old son. Reports indicate that Ms. Jordan killed her son with some of the “thousands of pills” that were found in her hotel room after the murder.

Ms. Jordan left a suicide note, and apparently attempted suicide via overdose; however, she was not successful in her attempt–police found her semi-conscious, barricaded in her room, with furniture pushed up against the door to prevent entry. Reportedly, a rambling, paranoid 20-page note was submitted as evidence of her “spiral into psychosis.”

The Brian D. Mitchell case for the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart casts the insanity plea back into the media spotlight once again…