New research sheds light on the psychological profiles of individuals who have been convicted of capital murder in California and sentenced to death. The study, published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, found a “pronounced heterogeneity” concerning clinical psychopathy. While a substantial proportion of the offenders exhibited heightened psychopathic features, others showed no signs of psychopathy. Psychopathy is considered important to understanding criminal behavior because it is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy and remorse, along with impulsive and reckless beh…
