Provide a summary of the case.
The case that I selected for this week focused on Aileen Wuornos. Aileen is an american serial killer that killed seven men while she was a prostitute (Aileen Wuornos, n.d.). The men were her clients and most of them were truck drivers. Aileen would try to use the defense that the men raped her or were trying to. Wuornos committed these crimes over the span of almost a year. Aileen was finally caught when her and her girlfriend at the time abandoned the car of one of the victims and pawned some of the victim’s belongings. Aileen and her girlfriend’s fingerprints were matched to a receipt at the pawn shop (Aileen Wuornos, n.d.). Wuornos was found guilty the crimes and received six death sentences. Aileen Wuornos was executed by lethal injection in the state of Florida on October 9, 2002 (Aileen Wuornos, n.d.).
Explain what role the forensic psychology professional played in selecting the forensic risk assessment instrument used in the case.
The forensic psychologist administered the PCL-R to Aileen Wuornos (Myers et al., 2005). With this instrument, the forensic psychologist was able to determine that Aileen was a psychopath and what led her to be this way. This information can be used in court to show the risk that Aileen proposes to others (Sohn et al., 2020). Also, the forensic psychologists were able to determine the motive behind Aileen’s crimes and conclude whether they were sexually motivated.
Explain characteristics of the assessment that make it effective for this case.
PCL-R looks at different characteristic to see whether or not the offender possesses the characteristics or not. The score is out of 40 and Aileen scored a 32 (Myers et al., 2005). With this information, the forensic psychologist is able to show why she is a danger to others if released. This information can help with sentencing but also show that this was not an isolated event and Aileen may need more services in order to maintain a “normal” life. Being that when administering the PCL-R it is supposed to be a structured interview, the forensic psychologist was able to look into Aileen’s childhood and find out that Aileen had a fairly difficult childhood which could have lead to psychopathy (Myers et al., 2005).
Explain the implications regarding the selection of the assessment instrument and its impact on the outcome of the case.
The PCL-R is used to determine risk and recividism. It can also be used to determine what services would best help an offender. When someone scores high on the assessment, it can be lead to longer sentencing and denial of parole. Also, it can give the forensic psychologist more information about the offender and the characteristics that they possess. It is expected that a qualified professional will administer the assessment in a nonbiased way.
Aileen Wuornos: Biography, Serial Killer, charlize theron monster. (n.d.). https://www.biography.com/crime/aileen-wuornos
Myers, W. C., Gooch, E., & Meloy, J. R. (2005). The role of psychopathy and sexuality in a female serial killer. Journal of forensic sciences, 50(3), 652–657.
Sohn, J. S., Raine, A., & Lee, S. J. (2020). The utility of the Psychopathy Checklist‐Revised (PCL‐R) facet and item scores in predicting violent recidivism. Aggressive Behavior, 46(6), 508–515. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.2192