A Practitioner's Guide

BOOKS AND MEDIA authors, the writing is uneven. Styles range from a simple summary rendering of the research to much more engaging writing that presents data inter- Psychopathy and Law: spersed with parenthetical comments and opinions A Practitioner’s Guide that highlight the practical experience of the chapter’s author. Edited by Helina Hakkanen-Nyholm and Jan-Olof Nyholm. The first three chapters on the assessment of Singapore: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. 292 pp. $48.85 psychopathy, psychopathy and brain function, and (paperback). cognition–emotion interactions in psychopathy provide good summaries, although I suspect that these Psychopathy is a central topic in the practice of fo- topics are covered capably in other recent books on rensic psychiatry. There are several excellent books psychopathy. The editors aim to differentiate this on the subject, with more being published each year. book from the others, and it is the remainder of the Some of these books, however, are quite weighty and chapters that bear examination to see if this goal is comprehensive and seem better suited for academics met. and researchers than for busy clinicians. Psychopathy Some of the other chapters are highly informative and Law: A Practitioner’s Guide is not one of those and provide practical knowledge. Chapters reviewing books. the specific manifestations of psychopathy in Editors Hakkanen-Nyholm and Nyholm make women, psychopathic features in adolescence, and an clear that their goal is to try to build a bridge between examination of predatory violence in psychopathy the academic and professional worlds by providing are compact but on point and convey information an integration of topics that have immediate practical one could contemplate in the next encounter with application, but are grounded in an empirical and a psychopathic patient or examinee. There were theoretical approach. The target audience is broad, other chapters on psychopathy and violent crime, extending beyond mental health professionals to in- psychopathy and criminal career trajectory, and clude practitioners from any field that may involve psychopathy in prisons that convey little practical contact with psychopathic individuals. The goal is and useful information and data, which could be certainly a laudable one and, on initial inspection of more productively obtained from other sources on the 13 concise chapters contained in just under 300 these topics such as key review articles in the research pages, the book has great appeal to the busy clinician. literature. The thought that here is a book that can be read cover There are two chapters that, in my view, seriously to cover immediately springs to mind. However, the overreach the available data. These include a chapter concise nature of the chapters, which are generally 20 examining the manifestations of psychopathy in eco- pages or fewer in length, made this an easy book to nomic crime, organized crime, and war crimes and read in a piecemeal fashion. The book is nicely laid another chapter on psychopathy in families. While out, with case examples in text boxes sprinkled supported by interesting case examples, the content throughout the chapters. The editors have aimed for reflects the limitations of being overly focused on a breadth of coverage, and the content scope runs from single-factor explanation in complex situations. Al- a review of the neurobiology of psychopathy to prac- though I recognize that the editors wanted to provide tical tips for interviewing psychopaths. True to their concise summaries and that these topics are ones that goal, the editors have limited the biological and neu- had not been highlighted previously, applying the ropsychological empirical findings and theoretical concept of psychopathy to these situations appears a perspectives to only two chapters. The remaining bit forced. To be fair to the chapters’ authors, it is chapters cover topics that are potentially relevant to probably unrealistic to expect more than what is in practitioners dealing with psychopathic individuals. the chapters, given the format of the book, and these Given the appeal of the book after my initial pe- topics probably warrant separate books focused on rusal, I really wanted to like it. Reading through it, these subjects in their entirety, such as Babiak and however, I found excellent chapters interspersed with Hare’s Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths go to Work.1 ones that are uneven or that go beyond the available The most interesting chapter in Psychopathy and research. As is true of many books with multiple Law: A Practitioner’s Guide is the final one on inter- Volume 42, Number 4, 2014 529 Books and Media personal aspects and interviewing psychopaths, au- a black woman and a white man in 1763. Belle’s thored by the book’s editors. The practical implica- likeness, next to that of her white half-cousin, was tions of the interpersonal behavior, deception and famously captured in a portrait that demonstrates a manipulation, and violence threat of psychopathic degree of equality unheard of at the time. The paint- individuals is reviewed. The authors provide 11 prac- ing has sparked interest in the form of articles, a tical tips for interviewing psychopathic individuals biography, and now a movie about Belle’s life. that highlight the need to understand the construct Director Amma Asante begins the film with Belle of psychopathy so that one can conduct efficient, as a young girl meeting her father, Sir John Lindsay, effective, and safe interviews with these types of pa- for the first time. He picks her up from a slum in his tients or examinees. Although some of their practical horse-drawn carriage, amid stares in the street, to tips may seem basic, the editors raise awareness of the take her to the life he says she was “born to.” He goes need to be reflective and mindful of the particular off to sea in the Royal Navy and leaves her in the care challenges that should be explicitly considered when of his uncle, William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, who interviewing psychopathic individuals. was the Lord Chief Justice of England. Also in Lord On balance, the editors achieve their goal of pro- Mansfield’s care is Belle’s half-cousin, Elizabeth ducing a practical, useful book on psychopathy. For a Murray. The film shows a close relationship between busy clinician who plans to read chapters of interest the girls as they grow into young women who must selectively, this book provides an accessible means of find husbands if they are to secure futures for them- obtaining knowledge of key points and ideas on the selves. They are introduced into society at a critical different aspects of psychopathy. It is not a reference time, during the appeal in the Zong case. for psychopathy but instead is a source for quick Belle first learns of the case of the Zong massacre review of topics, some of which are likely to apply from a local clergyman’s son, John Davinier, who has directly to current clinical practice. come to study law in an apprenticeship with her uncle. The Zong was a slave ship that set sail from Africa Reference in 1781 with 442 slaves on board.1 Over the course 1. Babiak P, Hare RD: Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths go to of the voyage, many of the slaves became sick and Work. New York: HarperBusiness, 2007 died. The ship owners alleged that the vessel was running dangerously low on water, requiring the Todd Tomita, MD crew to jettison 132 slaves into the sea, to save the Broadway Forensic Group ship and its crew. Upon the ship’s return to England, Vancouver, BC, Canada the company that owned the ship sued the insurance Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None. company for the value of the drowned slaves. The case, which came before Lord Mansfield, Belle’s uncle, hinged on the necessity of jettisoning the human “cargo,” since natural deaths occurring at sea (such as “Let Justice Be Done Though those from illness) would not be covered by the com- the Heavens May Fall”: The pany’s insurance. In the film, Davinier voices his belief that the crew was not in need of water, but had Zong in Amma Asante’s Belle coldly calculated that the slaves were worth more Written by Misan Sagay. Directed by Amma Asante. dead than as ruined merchandise. (One must set Produced by Damien Jones. A DJ Films, Isle of Man Film, aside any imagining of a murder trial, as such a trial Pinewood Pictures, BFI Production. Released in the never occurred; rather the trial was about insurance United States, May 2, 2014. 104 minutes. fraud and “necessity.”) The case of the Zong is a central element in the A legal case in which more than 132 slaves were in- movie, driving the actions of the main characters. tentionally thrown from a British slaving vessel into The Lord Chief Justice has weighty responsibilities the ocean to die may seem an unlikely backdrop for a in the Commonwealth and is described in the movie period romance, but Belle attempts just that. The as “next to the King, the most important man in critically acclaimed film takes its name from Dido England.” The case is portrayed as being paramount Elizabeth Belle, a woman born of the union between to the financial future of Britain, because of the 530 The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law.

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