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A Real Psychopath?

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

Irrespective of the debates about culpability and psychopathy, the noted traits of the psychopath - the glibness, lack of remorse, irresponsibility - speak volumes about the type of folks given the psychopathic label. And while merely reading a court opinion in no way makes a diagnosis, the case of O'Kelly v. State (#S08PO916) provides a chilling account of someone likely deserving of that label: Considering the crimes and the defendant, we find the sentences of death are not excessive or disproportionate to the penalty imposed in similar cases. OCGA § 17-10-35(c)(3). According to O'Kelley's statement to police, while "[c]omplete[ly] sober," he and Stinski turned off the power to the Pittmans' house and broke into the home sometime after midnight, where, by the light of a flashlight, O'Kelley beat his own neighbor with a cane as she lay asleep in bed while her young daughter, guarded by Stinski, listened, terrified, in the next room...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on November 18, 2008 (boomark / email).