The Psychopath Test, Examined

"Psychologist Thomas Allen had found that Roberson qualified as a psychopath. He even compared him to Bundy, Hussein, and Hitler, suggesting that if released, he posed a danger to others. "I think he's going to explode, be explosive, with people with whom he thinks he can get away with it," Allen told the jury. He said Roberson had shown an "absolute lack of remorse.""

"Robert L. Roberson III was scheduled for execution in Texas on October 16. He won a stay, but the case isn't over. He was convicted of the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. The prosecution said he'd shaken her so aggressively that she died from injuries sustained. The story he gave at the hospital was that she'd fallen from her bed. Hospital personnel determined that Nikki's injuries were inconsistent with Roberson's narrative. They turned the matter over to police."

Robert L. Roberson III faced execution after conviction for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. Prosecutors asserted he shook the child so violently that she sustained fatal injuries, while Roberson claimed she fell from her bed and hospital staff found his account inconsistent. Psychologist Thomas Allen administered the PCL-R and concluded Roberson qualified as a psychopath, comparing him to notorious figures and warning of future danger and lack of remorse. Some outlets criticized the PCL-R and Allen's handling of the assessment, but those critiques have not demonstrated definitive error. Robert Hare developed the PCL-R to gather empirical data to define psychopathy.

Read at Psychology Today