And Peterson was sentenced to death...

[conuly]

Why? Because the evidence was so compelling?

No.

He didn't show enough emotion during the trial.

(Thanks, rpeate)

Okay, youse guys can now talk about how horrible it is, because I'm too cold to do so.

Comments

[serendipitous24.livejournal.com]

In my opinion, I am suprised that his defense didn't use the "no emotion" thing to their advantage. Conuly, you have taken psych courses, right? What the jury is getting at is the psychopath characteristics he displays ... No remorse or emotion for things wrongly done. This isn't the same as per say an autistic's possible lack of emotion, you see? I was shocked that they didn't try to bargain for an insanity plea on Scott Peterson. I bet they try, with an appeal. I hope you know that I am not arguing, just stating an observation. :)

[conuly]

I've taken *two* psych courses (may take more) and I know a bit about autism. That doesn't make me an expert.

As for the characteristics he displays, *if* he killed her AND feels no remorse or emotion, I'd agree. However, we have no way of getting inside his head, short of a statement along the lines of "yeah, I killed her, and I'd do it again, damn that felt good". All we've got are interpretations of his behaviour which may be flawed.

[serendipitous24.livejournal.com]

I think you totally misunderstood what I was trying to say. I wasn't trying to be insulting, at all. I was offering another thought to the behavior. Nevermind. I wasn't saying that anything made you an "expert" I was asking if you had taken some pysch classes because I thought you had, but wasn't sure. SORRY.

[conuly]

I didn't think you were trying to be insulting. I was just making sure that I didn't misrepresent myself.

can I be an expert?

[staircase-wit.livejournal.com]

I'm autistic, and I've had sociopathic friends... including an ex-girlfriend. On the surface, it seemed similar to me. I've compared myself to Lector on occasion, and there is at least one psyche abstract that has made a splash in the autistic community, sugesting that J. Dahmer may have had Asperger's Syndrome.

I don't think affect should be the cause of any greater or lesser punishment, but of course it is. In "How to Win Friends and Influence People," Dale Carnage tells how to appeal to authorities' sense of justice, and in "The Naked Ape" Desmond Morris tells how to pull of the primate behavios of submission to get out of tickets.

Like it or not, jury trials are acts... improvisational theatre with serious consequences. Sociopaths, strangely enough, often have better acting ability then us autistics. I'm lucky enough to have some (2.5 years) actor's training, but like the French I studied at the same time, I'm pretty sure it's not enough to matter in the real world. I make up for my natural lack of affect with some traits of Hystrionic Personality Disorder. :)