Psychopathy Defining and Identifying Psychopaths

Signs of a Psychopath No remorse, no empathy, no conscience Narcissistic Poor ability to plan and regulate behavior Low arousal  less affected by negative consequences and have a high need for stimulation Poor impulse control

As children… Usually callous, unemotional children Early signs = children who torture animals Punishment doesn’t affect them

Sometimes highly intelligent Sometimes very good socially (even charming) MOST CRIMINALS ARE NOT PSYCHOPATHS (only 24%)

Diane Downs – Psychopath?

The case: Elizabeth Diane Downs The Diane Downs Story: 1983 Murder Case Focuses on Mom  1983, Springfield, Oregon – Diane and her three children (Christie 8, Cheryl 7, Danny 3) arrived at an emergency room.  All three children had been shot; Cheryl was dead and the other two were in critical condition. Diane had been shot in the arm, and had a towel wrapped around her arm. The kids had had no emergency care.

 Diane said a bushy-haired stranger had shot them on a deserted road that night.  Diane said they had been “sightseeing” on their way home that night from a friend’s house, which is why they were on that desolated road. Diane said the stranger flagged down the car, and she stopped to see what he wanted.

The man said he wanted the car, then reached into the car with a gun, and shot the children who were sleeping. At some point she had gotten out of the car. Diane said she struggled with him and was shot in the arm. Diane said she then faked throwing her keys away to confuse the man, then jumped back into the car while he was distracted and raced to the hospital.

The police began to search for this bushy- haired man and for a gun in the area. However, parts of Diane’s story did not ring true once they started to investigate more thoroughly. For example, the police found someone who had been driving behind Diane that night. He said she was driving very slowly to the hospital.

Picture with ex-husband Steven

The story continues  Diane gave a series of interviews that led to more suspicions about her story. She changed her story; she showed a bizarre lack of concern for her kids and a concern only for herself. She did declare her innocence though. (Links to some of these interviews are at the end of this presentation.)  The gun was never found.

 Initially, Christie was incapacitated and unable to tell authorities what happened that night.  When Christie recovered and could speak again, she identified her mother as the person who shot them.

Why did Diane shoot her children? Diane’s diaries revealed a possible motive for the crime: her boyfriend didn’t want her kids around. She wanted to be with her boyfriend. (There is no evidence the boyfriend had anything to do with the shooting, however.)

She was arrested Feb.28, 1984; her trial began in May Her surviving children were eventually cared for by adoptive parents. Diane was pregnant at her trial, saying she got pregnant on purpose because she missed her kids!

"I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much," she said. "I'm never going to see Cheryl on Earth again and I just, you can't replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. And they give me love, they give me satisfaction, they give me stability, they give me a reason to live and a reason to be happy, and that's gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive."

Note how many times Diane said “I” or “me” in this quote about her children who had been shot. "I got pregnant because I miss Christie and I miss Danny and I miss Cheryl so much," she said. "I'm never going to see Cheryl on Earth again and I just, you can't replace children, but you can replace the effect they give you. And they give me love, they give me satisfaction, they give me stability, they give me a reason to live and a reason to be happy, and that's gone, they took it from me, but children are so easy to conceive."

She was found guilty in June. She was sentenced to life + 50 years. She gave birth to a baby girl in prison. The baby was adopted out. Diane escaped from prison in 1987, was recaptured within 2 weeks. She’s now in prison in California. She has been denied parole (2008).

She tells her story – video clips eature=related (** an overview and an infamous interview with Diane – note her attitude about tying her shoes – 4 minutes)

Given this information, would you agree with McMurphy’s diagnosis as a psychopath?