Should a diagnosis of psychopathy be reason to sentence a criminal lightly or extend time behind bars?
According to new research, judges are likely to add prison time to the sentences of psychopaths, who are known for a lack of empathy and poor impulse control. However, the tougher sentence is not quite as severe when the judges are given a biological explanation for the disorder.
In other words, the researchers write today (Aug. 16) in the journal Science, a psychopathy diagnosis is a "doubled-edged sword" — seen by the criminal justice system as both an aggravating and mitigating factor.
"It's interesting to us that the same piece of information could have very different implications for how we treat the defendant and judge what he would do in the future," study researcher Lisa Aspinwall, a social psychologist at the University of Utah, told LiveScience.
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