Skip to main content

Ted Bundy's Insanity Defense: Link to Psychopathology

Sonali Pahuja

Mental Illness is a series of conditions and disorders that affect millions of people around the world. People with limited experience working with such individuals can be extremely sceptical about these conditions and the real applicability of mental illness to crime causation. The belief that an insanity defence is just an attempt to get away with a heinous crime is not uncommon amongst people. That may be the case sometimes, but mostly insanity cases have some merit. This dilemma is prevalent in society and because of it there are millions of people suffering from mental illnesses and they don’t get the help they need to be functioning members of the society.  

In the criminal justice system, psychopathology and crime causation is an issue that affects most people. Criminal justice is nothing but understanding what crime was committed, who committed it and why. Many individuals who suffer from mental disorders are often not in control of their own thoughts and actions. Delusions, paranoia, anxiety, and many other factors that are deemed psychopathic are commonly found to be factors in criminal activity. Such factors cannot always be the singular cause of a criminal act, they can place negative influences on the individual, making him/her act out in spite of their better judgement. Some mental disorders like manic disorder, schizophrenia and some personality disorders are often associated with violence and aggressive tendencies. The combination of a mental disorder with a criminal mind can increase compulsion and is a dangerous combination. (Garner) 

One such case where we can analyse the relation between psychopathology and criminal behaviour is the case of Ted Bundy. Ted Bundy is perhaps one of the most heinous and notorious serial murderers in the history of criminals in the US. The multiple books, literature and media representation of the Ted Bundy case showcases the fascination that people have with psychopathology and criminal behaviours. The Netflix true-crime documentary based on the recorded tapes of Ted Bundy during his last few months in prison before his death penalty gives people an insight into the mind of the criminal itself.  

Many theories by various psychological experts suggest that Ted Bundy had an anti-social disorder and it is quite evident in his tapes as well. He was classified as a High Factor 1 psychopath, which means he was intelligent and had very few signs of Psychopathy in his early life. Factor 1 Psychopathy is characterized by a grandiose sense of self, pathological lying, conning-manipulative tendencies, lack of remorse, lack of empathy and failure to accept responsibility. Psychopathy is a labelled name for Anti-social disorder. (Karpman) 

Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others. A low moral sense or conscience is often apparent, as well as a history of crime, legal problems, or impulsive and aggressive behaviour. (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders V) 

In the case of Ted Bundy, he was able to function and even flourish in his career and personal life, even while carrying out and evading arrest for a long time for brutal murders and rapes. He was charming, manipulative and was always seeking sympathy from others. He was addicted to pornography and at some point; in his life, his addiction led him to commit crimes like rape and murder. During the case when he was being tried for the murder of one of his many victims, Kimberly Leach, a 12-year-old girl, his attorneys decided on an insanity plea defence. The state of Florida had a lot of evidence against him and since he did not show any visible signs and symptoms of a mental disorder, the state of Florida rejected the plea and sentenced him to death by the electric chair. (Holmes)

The lack of recognition and awareness about mental disorders are quite dangerous and especially in cases of decisions about criminal conduct, it can make a huge difference. The justice system often and not, ignores the systematic relation between psychopathy and criminal behaviour and this, in some cases, can lead to failures of the justice system as a whole.


 References –
Dressing, H., Foerster, K., & Gass, P. (2011). Are stalkers disordered or criminal? thoughts on the psychopathology of stalking. Psychopathology, 44(5), 277-82. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000325060 

 Garner, B.A. (2004). “Psychopath”. Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed.). St. Paul, MN: Thomson West. 
 Holmes, R.M., & Holmes, S.T. (2010). Serial murder (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.  

Insanity Plea Statistics (2014). Occupy Theory. Retrieved from http://occupytheory.org/insanityplea-statistics

 Karpman, B. (2012). Psychosis in criminals: Clinical studies in the psychopathology of crime. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(2). (Reprinted from Karpman, 1926, The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease). Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NMD 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Burari Deaths: The Psychopathology of Lalit, a Biopsychosocial Perspective

Pankhudi Narayan Blogpost 1  TW: Death, mentions of suicide.         On July 1st of 2018, eleven members of a family were found dead in their shared home in the Burari area of Delhi. The deaths seemed to be fashioned in a ritualistic manner and evidence suggested that the family members were willing participants. This was the Bhatia family, a typical middle-class Indian joint family. Bhopal Singh who had passed away and his wife Narayani Devi formed the older generations of the family and were Lalith’s parents. The most compelling evidence in the uncovering of the events that led to the death of an entire family was provided by eleven diaries found by authorities. The diaries described the events that transpired before the deaths, discussing a ritual that needed to be conducted and the diary entries were corroborated by the post mortem findings as the accounts were found to be consistent with injuries (Yadav et al., 2021). It was uncovered that Lalit, a member of the family who was the
Post a Comment
Read more

Made in Heaven: An analysis of Faiza Naqvi

Vyoma Vijai Blog Post 3 ‘Made in Heaven’ is a popular Indian web series created by Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kaagti and was launched in March 2018. The show gained a lot of attention in the first few days of it coming out. It is a bold show that focuses on marriage practices in the rich and elite class of Delhi. The show focuses on the social issues and practices that are often not spoken of or are kept closeted. These issues include homosexuality, dowry, molestation and other questionable Indian customs. The story follows the lives of multiple characters at the same time. The two most important characters are Tara and Karan who run a wedding planning agency.   Tara is married to a rich industrialist whose name is Adil and her best friend in the show is Faiza, played by Kalki Koechlin. This essay analyses Faiza’s character and her role in this web series. Faiza is a complex character to understand. Her actions make it hard for the viewers to decide whether they l
Post a Comment
Read more

Disorderly Delvian: A Deep Dive into "Anna Delvey" through the Lens of NPD

       A markedly thick accent, a mop of blonde hair, a magical array of unimaginably expensive clothing, and an air of calculated mystery mesh uncomfortably together to invent Anna Delvey, the centre of Netflix’s appropriately named documentary/drama series, “Inventing Anna”. This series tells or rather retells the fascinating story of how one woman deceived the creme de la creme of New York society as well as some prestigious financial institutions under the guise that she was a wealthy heiress from Germany. The series follows a journalist, Vivian Kent, as she tries to uncover the carefully constructed web of lies Anna spun around high society after her arrest, heavily interspersed by flashbacks, present-day court hearings, and interviews with the enigma herself (Shondaland, 2022). Anna as a character, infused with a troubling reality and a dramatised narrative, presents an interesting scope to study the symptomatology of Narcissistic Personality Disorder as presented in her behaviou
Post a Comment
Read more