The role of psychopathy and sexuality in a female serial killer

The case of Aileen Wuornos, executed in Florida for the serial killing of seven men, is studied to determine her degree of psychopathy and the presence or absence of sexuality or sexual sadism as a motivation or gratification for her crimes. The authors, one of whom evaluated the subject shortly before her death, determined that she evidenced a psychopathic personality (PCL-R score 32). She also met DSM-IV-TR criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder. While her killings ostensibly were carried out during routine acts of prostitution, there was ambiguous evidence that her crimes were sexually motivated or gratifying. Her articulated motivation was robbery and elimination of the witness/victim. After carefully considering all available data, the authors concluded there was no convincing evidence of sexual sadism in either her personal history or her method of committing serial murder, and it remains unclear whether sexual gratification was to some degree a motivating factor in her commission of these offenses. The confluence of early childhood attachment disruptions, severe psychopathy, other personality disorder pathology, and a traumagenic abuse history likely contributed to her having serially murdered seven victims.     

When silence threatens safety: lessons from the first Canberra Hospital neurosurgical inquiry

Despite widespread institutional and professional support, the recommendations of the Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry may be insufficient to reduce patient risk from impaired senior medical practitioners. Using the First Inquiry into Neurosurgical Services at the Canberra Hospital as a case study, this article argues that the Bristol-type recommendations--which emphasise reformulation of clinical governance structures, including early reporting of "sentinel events" and compulsory clinical audits--will be ineffective without a reformed institutional ethos that encourages open transparency and respect for those committed to such processes. Such reformulation may need to commence in medical education and involve new strategies including the use of portable digital technology to facilitate self-assessment of performance and immediate reporting of adverse incidents.     

To leave or to stay?: Battered women's concern for vulnerable pets

Consistent with previous research, almost half of a sample of 41 pet-owning battered women reported that their partners had threatened or actually harmed their pets, and over a fourth reported that concern for their pets had affected their decisions about leaving or staying with the batterer. Differences between rural and urban women were not significant, although higher proportions of rural than urban women reported that their partners had threatened or harmed their pets and that concern for their pets had affected their decisions. For the sample as a whole, logistic regression analyses showed that women whose pets had been threatened or harmed were significantly more likely to report that concern for their pets had affected their decisions about leaving or staying. The findings suggest that service providers should inquire about battered women's concern for their pets and should include arrangements for animals in safety planning.     

Criminals' explanations of their criminal behavior, III: the effects of time and context

The authors looked at the explanations for their index of violent crimes as given by 69 incarcerated violent male offenders, respectively. We then examined the extent to which those explanations changed with the passing of time and with change in context. We found that explanations of impaired internal control increased with the passing of time, and that such explanation was given more often to mental health professionals rather than law enforcement professionals. Finally, we found that our subjects tended to give mental health professionals fewer explanations involving external control with the passing of time.     

Changing Forms of Accountability in Education? A Case Study of LEAs in Wales

Political mechanisms of accountability were marginalized by Conservative government reforms during the 1980s and 1990s which sought a more market-oriented approach within the public sector in order to enhance ‘consumerism’. In education, parents were given more choice between schools and were provided with more information on school performance. The promotion of market accountability has involved a reduction in the powers of local education authorities (LEAs) which had been central to the operation of political accountability. However, whilst market-based forms of accountability were firmly enhanced in principle by the legislation, to what extent have the forms of accountability operating within LEAs changed in practice? Interviews with Chief Officers and the Chair of the Education Committee are used to identify changing perceptions and practices of accountability in LEAs in Wales. The findings indicate that although local politicians and officials have been forced to operate within the legislative framework of market accountability, they have sought to impede its successful implementation. The policy community in Wales facilitated the LEAs’ capacity to respond in this way. The market-based reforms conflicted with fundamental values held in Wales, which remain those of professional accountability.     

Juror Judgments in Civil Cases: Hindsight Effects on Judgments of Liability for Punitive Damages

An experiment was conducted to investigate whether hindsight bias influences an important class of legal decisions—civil jurors' judgments of liability for punitive damages. Jury-eligible citizens were shown a videotaped summary of the circumstances surrounding an environmental damage lawsuit. Some subjects were presented a foresight perspective and asked to judge whether or not a railroad should comply with an order to stop operations on a section of track that had been declared hazardous. Other subjects were asked to judge whether the railroad was liable for punitive damages after an accident occurred. Three independent variables were manipulated: temporal perspective with one third of the subjects assessing risks in foresight and two thirds assessing risks in hindsight; subject role with one half of the subjects asked to assume the role of a juror rendering a verdict and one half the role of a citizen whose personal opinion was solicited; and, in the hindsight conditions only, the amount of damage ($240,000 vs. $24,000,000) caused by the accident. Almost all measures of participants' judgments and thoughts about the case showed dramatic foresight–hindsight differences. The participants' role had an effect on some measures; for example, participants in the juror role exhibited slightly smaller hindsight effects when judging liability than did those in the citizen role. The magnitude of the damage caused by the accident had no effects on any measures.     

Juror Judgments in Civil Cases: Effects of Plaintiff's Requests and Plaintiff's Identity on Punitive Damage Awards

Two experiments were conducted to study the manner in which civil jurors assess punitive damage awards. Jury-eligible citizens were shown a videotaped summary of an environmental damage lawsuit and told that the defendant had already paid compensatory damages. They were asked to judge liability for punitive damages and, if damages were to be assessed, to assign a dollar award. Three independent variables were manipulated in the case materials: the dollar amounts that were explicitly requested by the plaintiffs in their closing arguments to the jury, the geographical location of the defendant corporation, and the location of the lead plaintiff. Consistent with prior findings of anchor effects on judgments, we found that the plaintiffs requested award values had a dramatic effect on awards: the higher the request, the higher the awards. We also found that local plaintiffs were awarded more than were geographically remote plaintiffs, while the location of the defendant company did not have reliable effects on the awards. The implications of these results for procedures in civil trials and for theories of juror decision making are discussed.     

Reporting under International Human Rights Treaties: Perspectives from Timor Leste's Experience of the Reformed Process

This article explores Timor Leste's experience of reportingunder the reformed international human rights treaties reportingsystem during the period 2004–2007. Whilst consciousnesshas grown of the difficulties faced by states by the duplicationof treaty reporting processes and the resource burden representedby reporting, the reforms instituted to date have been comparativelyminor. Timor's experience with the new Common Core Document(CCD)/treaty-specificdocument format affirms that reporting serves useful purposes,particularly in stimulating human rights education initiatives,government/NGO collaboration and awareness of human rights gapsin practice. The reformed process highlights cross-cutting humanrights matters. Yet, significant challenges remain, particularlyfor developing, post-conflict states, before reporting willattain its desired potential of support for improved human rightspromotion and protection at the national level. The CCD itselfraises complex conceptual difficulties needing resolution. Thereremains a paucity of appropriate methodological tools to supportthe reporting process and facilitate the integration of humanrights and development goals. Further work is thus needed toshape a sustainable process for reporting.