Casey Anthony and Hare's Checklist: Part Two

In an earlier post, we examined the first ten items in Dr. Robert Hare's twenty-point psychopathy checklist.  All ten could be connected to the personality and behavior of Casey Anthony.  Now here are the second group of points for consideration.

Promiscuous Sexual Behavior: a variety of brief, superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an indiscriminate selection of sexual partners; the maintenance of several relationships at the same time; a history of attempts to sexually coerce others into sexual activity or taking great pride at discussing sexual exploits or conquests.

Casey has a long list of conquests including a string of one-night stands around the time that Caylee was conceived.  Some she only knew by first names.  It is no surprise that Casey cannot tell us who Caylee's father is.  She used Anthony Rusciano mercilessly, leaving him feel like dreadful when she rose from his bed and walked out without a word.  She had a string of overlapping, serial relationships--still having sexual relations with Rico Morales as she transitioned to Tony Lazzaro.

 Early Behavior Problems: a variety of behaviors prior to age 13, including lying, theft, cheating, vandalism, bullying, sexual activity, fire-setting, glue-sniffing, alcohol use, and running away from home.


No know evidence of these problems in Casey Anthony.


Lack of realistic, long-term goals: an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals; a nomadic existence, aimless, lacking direction in life.

Casey couldn't even manage to stick it out long enough to graduate from high school.  She expressed an interest in photography and her father tried to help her get into school to study, she dropped that ball without looking back.  She hadn't worked for years and led an empty life filled with parties and sex without an apparent thought for tomorrow.


Impulsivity: the occurrence of behaviors that are unpremeditated and lack reflection or planning; inability to resist temptation, frustrations, and urges; a lack of deliberation without considering the consequences; foolhardy, rash, unpredictable, erratic, and reckless.

She murdered Caylee without having a plan to dispose of the body.  She hid her pregnancy without a thought for her ability to conceal it forever.  She lived her life one day at a time, making up one lie after another to buy time before the inevitable revelation of Caylee's death.


Irresponsibility: repeated failure to fulfill or honor obligations and commitments; such as not paying bills, defaulting on loans, performing sloppy work, being absent or late to work, failing to honor contractual agreements.

She lost her job by not showing up. She didn't not graduate from high school by being absent.  She did not work to pay her bills, preferring to steal from others including her parents, friends and elderly grandparents.


Failure to accept responsibility for own actions: a failure to accept responsibility for one's actions reflected in low conscientiousness, an absence of dutifulness, antagonistic manipulation, denial of responsibility, and an effort to manipulate others through this denial.

It was always someone else's fault.  It was the high school's fault that she did not graduate.  It was George, Lee and Cindy's fault that she lied.  It was an accident that Caylee died.  It was Roy Kronk's fault for dumping the body in the woods.  She was a victim, she insisted, not a perpetrator.


Many short-term marital relationships: a lack of commitment to a long-term relationship reflected in inconsistent, undependable, and unreliable commitments in life, including marital.

Casey bounced from one relationship to another, although engaged, she'd not ever been married.  Her interpersonal relationships with her family members were mercurial, more like that of a 13-year old than that of a young woman in her twenties.



Juvenile Delinquency: behavior problems between the ages of 13-18; mostly behaviors that are crimes or clearly involve aspects of antagonism, exploitation, aggression, manipulation, or a callous, ruthless tough-mindedness.


Casey Anthony did not have a juvenile record. Her manipulation of others, however, was clearly evident as was her habit of lying about everything and nothing at all.


Revocation of condition release: a revocation of probation or other conditional release due to technical violations, such as carelessness, low deliberation, or failing to appear.


Casey Anthony did not violate conditional release when she was out on bail on the check theft charges.  She did not have the opportunity to do so after she was charged with murder because she was never released on bail.


Criminal Versatility: a diversity of types of criminal offenses, regardless if the person has been arrested or convicted for them; taking great pride at getting away with crimes.


Repeated theft from parents, grandparents and friends. False statements to the police. Suspected homicide of a child.

Casey Anthony easily meets the definition in seven of these final ten points.  That gives her a positive response on 17 out of 20 of the items.  However, taking it a step further, scoring each point on a scale of 0-2.  By my calculation, that would give her a total score between 32 and 38.  A diagnosis of psychopathy is met when the subject scores 30 points or more.

I am not a mental health professional, but it seems clear to me that Casey Anthony fits the diagnosis.  It explains why Caylee Marie Anthony is now dead.