Psychopathy as Sword or Shield? A Legislative Proposal for the Greater Good

Vanessa Catherine Whirl, Califonia Western School of Law

Abstract

While mental health law has developed over the recent years as the fields of psychology and law combine their research, a gap is still left for one of the world’s most threatening mental health patients, psychopaths. Current legal definitions of “mental illness” exclude this diagnosis from legislation aimed at special attention and treatment of mental health patients. This issue is addressed in this article by legislative history, discussion of needed for changes in the laws regarding psychopathy, and analysis of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist. Finally, a proposal for legislation is made altering the prongs of current civil commitment statutes in a way that includes psychopaths by a diagnosis of psychopathy as determined by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist.