- A "depravity rating" that measures evil and
will help courts decide whether convicted murderers should face execution
or just imprisonment has been drawn up by American psychiatrists.
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- For decades, doctors shunned the use of the word "evil"
on the grounds that it crossed the line between clinical and moral judgment.
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- Now, however, two studies of the criminal personality
have concluded that "evil" should be used to describe the most
vicious criminals ñ and that it can be measured.
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- In the first study, Dr Michael Stone, professor of psychiatry
at Columbia University, examined the biographies of more than 500 killers
in New York's Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Centre and developed a 22-level "gradations
of evil" list.
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- "After years of study, we have learned to recognise
the traits of these people: what they do and why they do it," he said.
"It is time to give them the proper appellation ñ evil."
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- On Dr Stone's scale, the most evil killers, such as the
Moors Murderers, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, are classified as "psychopathic
torture murderers, with torture their primary motive". At the other
end of the scale, the least evil killers are those who have acted in self-defence.
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- Dr Stone's scale also takes into account whether a killer
has been abused, is a jealous lover of the victim, is a drug user, shows
remorse or is power-hungry.
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- In the second study, Dr Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist
and professor at New York University, sought to draw up a scientific definition
of the "aggravating" factors in crimes that would determine whether
or not a judge and jury can impose the death penalty.
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- Only one state, Florida, explicitly uses the word "evil"
in its legislation. Dr Welner said that others used synonyms such as "heinous",
"cruel" and "atrocious".
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- He said: "Jurors are left to decide on the fate
of criminals on the basis of mere emotions, and we want to define the term.
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- "It might sound like parsing words to us, but it
would not do so to the victim. We need a serious attempt to engage evil
in the modern world: we have lost our compass of what is unacceptable.
If there is a clear sense of what is beyond the pale, or evil, it is easier
to promote good."
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- On Dr Stone's scale, Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire
Ripper", who was convicted in 1981 of murdering 13 women, would be
put on level 17 ñ "sexually perverse serial murderers",
only five levels below the most depraved killers ñ because he did
not torture his victims as he killed them.
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- Billy the Kid, the 19th-century teenage outlaw who is
said to have killed between nine and 21 men, is classified as level 6 ("impetuous,
hot-headed, without marked psychopathic features"), while Jean Harris,
a school headmistress who in 1980 murdered her lover in a fit of jealousy,
is deemed to be only level 2.
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- Harris found a rival's underwear in the drawer of her
lover, Dr Herman Tarnower, the man who launched the Scarsdale Diet, and
killed him in rage.
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- "It was the classic crime of passion, a single lifetime
act of a person who, though immature and egocentric, otherwise shows no
traits of evil," Dr Stone said.
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- Dr Welner's scale of depravity was drawn up after taking
into account the views of thousands of ordinary people who contributed
to a website about their understanding of evil. It covers the intent, the
action and the "attitude" of the criminal.
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- According to Dr Welner, evil intent could describe the
desire to carry out a crime for its excitement alone, to terrorise others,
to traumatise the victim or to target a victim based on prejudice.
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- Evil action would take into account whether a killer
has prolonged the duration of a victim's suffering, inflicted an "exceptional
degree of physical harm" or imposed such suffering on a victim that
they demonstrate "panic, terror, and helplessness".
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- Dr Welner said: "People say evil is like pornography:
they know it when they see it, but can debate whether or when it is harmful.
This is not true. We are finding widespread agreement about what is evil."
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- He hopes to complete his research this year and expects
the scale to be adopted by courts in the US soon. The scale is already
in demand from public prosecutors and State Departments of Justice, and
also from defence lawyers, who have read his academic papers.
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- "It is already being used informally by these lawyers,"
he said. "But we want to submit it to legislatures for formal adoption
into state criminal and civil (tort) law.
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- "That will slow it down, but I do believe it will
become part of our system of law within a few years."
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
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- http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=4U
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