What is the key trait of an evil person?

toffee said:
think mainly they don't hold a conversation to long 'and no eye connection ' think the eyes are a good give away .
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This is a good definition of a guilty person, unless they are a pathological or compulsive liar. People with those types of personalities usually have some type of a personality disorder. When we question a suspect and they fail to make eye contact, we generally know that we are on the right track.

People that are a pathological or compulsive liar can look you right in the eye and lie to you without a hesitation. Why can they do that? Because they believe that what they are telling you is the truth. IOW, they are living in a fantasy world of make believe that is real to them.
 
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SeaBreeze said:
Pleasure in watching other people suffer, either physically, mentally or emotionally. Also, watching animals suffer for that matter. The really evil person will create the suffering themselves for amusement.
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Oh how true. Sadistic characteristics.
So very true. :(
They create suffering for amusement/ are entertained by it. So true. I can’t wrap my head around this type of thinking. Totally cold hearted.
 

911 said:
This is a good definition of a guilty person, unless they are a pathological or compulsive liar. People with those types of personalities usually have some type of a personality disorder. When we question a suspect and they fail to make eye contact, we generally know that we are on the right track.

People that are a pathological or compulsive liar can look you right in the eye and lie to you without a hesitation. Why can they do that? Because they believe that what they are telling you is the truth. IOW, they are living in a fantasy world of make believe that is real to them.
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Absolutely true . I couldn’t agree more.
These types have had a pattern of dysfunctional behaviour for so long that it’s become part of their personality and considered a ‘personality disorder.’

Most often it’s undiagnosed because the person doesn’t see any fault of their own. They are too busy blaming others for their downfalls. It’s always someone’s else’s fault.

And compulsive liars can look you directly in the face and lie because they DO believe in their own lies. They are so used to lying that it’s become their way of life. They will defend they lies till the cows come home which can be VERY convincing. They don’t just believe their lies; they venomously defend them.

They TRULY ARE living in a fantasy world that IS TRUE to them. Anyone who has close contact with someone like this knows this to be so true.

These types of people are not capable of having true self reflection. In other words, for this to happen, they first need to be able to determine truth which they are incapable of doing.

Stating they lack empathy is a huge understatement. In fact, others are merely used as stepping stones in order for them to get what they want.

Many are incapable of caring for others.
 
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While some operate as lone wolves and solitary predators, major league evil additionally loves to masquerade as good, and tending to be charismatic or magnetic, is likely to attract followers in whom elements of their nature resonates. From this base they will seek to impose their will on others, and deceive many...
 
Everything in life is a game to them. When relating to others, no matter how cruel their actions may be, it is merely for entertainment. It's always about some angle with them. Because they deem themselves to be above all, they feel it is their right to meddle with the lives of others. Evil people will never mind their own business.
 
No conscience, inability to form attachments to anyone else. Pathologically narcissistic, mimic emotions, but unable to genuinely feel much of anything except anger, lust, contempt toward others. Usually sadistic, gaslighter extraordinaire.
 
Fyrefox said:
While some operate as lone wolves and solitary predators, major league evil additionally loves to masquerade as good, and tending to be charismatic or magnetic, is likely to attract followers in whom elements of their nature resonates. From this base they will seek to impose their will on others, and deceive many...
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Hitler is a case in point!
 
Ruthanne said:
If you are interested in serial killers and their traits here is a link for you. I found it very interesting, and very scary!

https://www.grunge.com/110562/traits-serial-killers-eerily-common/
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This is a good article-

"A psychopath is born that way — the impulse control and emotional centers of his or her brain are underdeveloped.

By contrast, antisocial personalities are learned, and usually develop during an abusive or neglected childhood."

Both know right from wrong but are unable to care.
 
Shalimar said:
No conscience, inability to form attachments to anyone else. Pathologically narcissistic, mimic emotions, but unable to genuinely feel much of anything except anger, lust, contempt toward others. Usually sadistic, gaslighter extraordinaire.
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I remember a case in New York back in the early ‘90’s that included a young 12 y/o boy named Eric Smith. He was convicted of killing a young 4 y/o old male child. The press and the police both tagged him as being “evil.” His Grandparents stated that he was a loving child and although his home life was not completely ideal, he was never abused.

The problem with Eric, as stated by the defense’s psychiatrist, was that he was bullied, threatened and abused by his classmates because of his really red hair, freckles, big ears and large glasses.

During the trial, Eric’s confession was read and he had made statements, which included that he had lured the young tyke into a wooded area where he struck him with a large rock and sodomized him with a stick. It was also noted that Eric admitted to torturing and killing insects and (I believe) a small animal.

So, this explains how Eric became “evil”, but not all “evil” people follow Eric’s path. In your opinion, do most people who are “evil” become that way during their youth or can their evil tendencies be developed during adulthood as well?

To the best of my knowledge, Eric is still in prison since he was 12 y/o (I believe he turned 13 during the trial), which means that he has now served 26 years. Does anyone think that he should be released? The victim’s parents are hell bent on keeping him in prison for life, which may not be possible, but IMO, they are no longer seeking justice, but vengeance.
 
911 said:
I remember a case in New York back in the early ‘90’s that included a young 12 y/o boy named Eric Smith. He was convicted of killing a young 4 y/o old male child. The press and the police both tagged him as being “evil.” His Grandparents stated that he was a loving child and although his home life was not completely ideal, he was never abused.

The problem with Eric, as stated by the defense’s psychiatrist, was that he was bullied, threatened and abused by his classmates because of his really red hair, freckles, big ears and large glasses.

During the trial, Eric’s confession was read and he had made statements, which included that he had lured the young tyke into a wooded area where he struck him with a large rock and sodomized him with a stick. It was also noted that Eric admitted to torturing and killing insects and (I believe) a small animal.

So, this explains how Eric became “evil”, but not all “evil” people follow Eric’s path. In your opinion, do most people who are “evil” become that way during their youth or can their evil tendencies be developed during adulthood as well?

To the last of my knowledge, Eric is still in prison since he was 12 y/o (I believe he turned 13 during the trial), which means that he has now served 26 years. Does anyone think that he should be released? The victim’s parents are hell bent on keeping him in prison for life, which may not be possible, but IMO, they are no longer seeking justice, but vengeance.
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This is my opinion only, mental health professionals, profilers etc, are very divided on the issue of what triggers evil, is it innate in psychopaths, learned through abuse in sociopaths, or a combo of both plus other components we have yet to discern? In Eric’s case, because of his youth, it is

possible that his psyche cracked under pressure, and he may possibly be salvageable. I can understand if the victim’s parents want revenge. At 12 ones patterns are still fluid, he may be very

different now. There was a case many years ago, in New Zealand where two young girls killed one of their mothers because one Family was moving and they did not want to be separated. They were
incarcerated until they turned 21, neither have been in trouble since. One is a very famous novelist

I believe that most sociopaths are triggered as children, rarely do adults who have never exhibited those sort of behaviours suddenly devolve to that degree. I believe psychopaths are simply wired


differently than the rest of us, their brains are noticeably different. Of course, it remains a mystery as to why most psychopaths lead successful lives, are not criminals, although they usually make a train wreck of the lives of anyone close to them.
 
Shalimar—-Thanks for your expeditious reply. I have always found the mind and what makes people tick extremely interesting. If I had not wanted to be a State Trooper, psychology would have been my second choice. In college, I took one year of Sociology and that’s what triggered my interest in human behavior. It was very helpful during my tenure as a Trooper.

I fully understand your thinking and not having the expertise that you do, I will accept your thoughts on this matter. But, this is one of those areas where one reply brings up more questions. Some of us retired Troopers get together once a month for breakfast and a few months ago, a fellow Trooper brought up the incident where the man entered the Amish schoolhouse, took ten little girls hostage, shot 8 of them, killing 5, two from one family.

Is this evil, mental illness or a bit of both? I had spoken with a few different psychiatrists about this incident and the consensus was that yes, it is possible to be evil and still be psychopathic. So, my next question then was, “If he was diagnosed as psychopathic, would he have been committed, instead of incarcerated?” The answer that I received from the D.A. was that he would have been committed as criminally insane and probably never released. When we do that, are we stating that his psychosis is probably incurable? What do the doctors do with these types of patients? Keep them sedated? Don’t they receive any treatments?

I keep thinking back to the movie, “One Flew Over The Cuckoos’ Nest.” In that movie, the patients, both mandated and voluntary committed, were put together in group therapy. Is that the way it works? The patients also received drugs that heavily sedated them or spaced out. Does that still go on, or is all of that fictional for the movie’s sake?
RadishRose said:
This is a good article-

"A psychopath is born that way — the impulse control and emotional centers of his or her brain are underdeveloped.

By contrast, antisocial personalities are learned, and usually develop during an abusive or neglected childhood."

Both know right from wrong but are unable to care.
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A psychopath is born that way? Really? Is that an opinion or fact? I never heard this before.
 
Dostoyevsky the great psychologist writer explores the mind of a person who commits an evil crime in Crime and Punishment.
Shows how the murderer is able to "otherise" the victim. Make them less than human. And the murderer makes himself God. He becomes a law unto himself losing all humility. The danger of arrogance.
 
I agree with Dostoyevsky, hypo. I also think like so many behaviors evil lies on a spectrum. It goes from energetic and blatant to lazy and covert. I also believe that given certain circumstances, all of us may find ourselves on the spectrum from time to time, our pride as the initiator. Just my view.
 
Judycat said:
I agree with Dostoyevsky, hypo. I also think like so many behaviors evil lies on a spectrum. It goes from energetic and blatant to lazy and covert. I also believe that given certain circumstances, all of us may find ourselves on the spectrum from time to time, our pride as the initiator. Just my view.
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if i am allowed to mention jordan peterson here. he would agree with you judycat. he says that many of us are quite capable of being the monster rather than the victim. given the right circumstances.
 
Ruthanne said:
If you are interested in serial killers and their traits here is a link for you. I found it very interesting, and very scary!

https://www.grunge.com/110562/traits-serial-killers-eerily-common/
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Great article but I could not finish reading it.
It’s haunting.

When I was younger I worked in a pet shop part time to support myself while in high school.
The job was very fun except there was a guy who was hired to look after the small animals, meaning gerbils, hamsters, rats, geckos, iguanas, birds etc.,

He was polite and intelligent but super sadistic. Not only did he like to torture some of the small animals but he’d follow me around and tell me all about it. In hindsight I wish I called the police on him. Saying he was creepy was an understatement. 😳🤯
 
911 said:
Shalimar—-Thanks for your expeditious reply. I have always found the mind and what makes people tick extremely interesting. If I had not wanted to be a State Trooper, psychology would have been my second choice. In college, I took one year of Sociology and that’s what triggered my interest in human behavior. It was very helpful during my tenure as a Trooper.

I fully understand your thinking and not having the expertise that you do, I will accept your thoughts on this matter. But, this is one of those areas where one reply brings up more questions. Some of us retired Troopers get together once a month for breakfast and a few months ago, a fellow Trooper brought up the incident where the man entered the Amish schoolhouse, took ten little girls hostage, shot 8 of them, killing 5, two from one family.

Is this evil, mental illness or a bit of both? I had spoken with a few different psychiatrists about this incident and the consensus was that yes, it is possible to be evil and still be psychopathic. So, my next question then was, “If he was diagnosed as psychopathic, would he have been committed, instead of incarcerated?” The answer that I received from the D.A. was that he would have been committed as criminally insane and probably never released. When we do that, are we stating that his psychosis is probably incurable? What do the doctors do with these types of patients? Keep them sedated? Don’t they receive any treatments?

I keep thinking back to the movie, “One Flew Over The Cuckoos’ Nest.” In that movie, the patients, both mandated and voluntary committed, were put together in group therapy. Is that the way it works? The patients also received drugs that heavily sedated them or spaced out. Does that still go on, or is all of that fictional for the movie’s sake?


A psychopath is born that way? Really? Is that an opinion or fact? I never heard this before.
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Hi 911, I thoroughly enjoyed your post, but I have a toothache today, by tomorrow antibiotic should take hold. Then hopefully I can write something that does justice to your questions.
 
hypochondriac said:
if i am allowed to mention jordan peterson here. he would agree with you judycat. he says that many of us are quite capable of being the monster rather than the victim. given the right circumstances.
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Eek! To most mental health professionals, and many women, Jordan Peterson is anathema, his views are eccentric, and misogynistic in the extreme, I certainly am not a fan.
 
911 said:
Shalimar—-Thanks for your expeditious reply. I have always found the mind and what makes people tick extremely interesting. If I had not wanted to be a State Trooper, psychology would have been my second choice. In college, I took one year of Sociology and that’s what triggered my interest in human behavior. It was very helpful during my tenure as a Trooper.

I fully understand your thinking and not having the expertise that you do, I will accept your thoughts on this matter. But, this is one of those areas where one reply brings up more questions. Some of us retired Troopers get together once a month for breakfast and a few months ago, a fellow Trooper brought up the incident where the man entered the Amish schoolhouse, took ten little girls hostage, shot 8 of them, killing 5, two from one family.

Is this evil, mental illness or a bit of both? I had spoken with a few different psychiatrists about this incident and the consensus was that yes, it is possible to be evil and still be psychopathic. So, my next question then was, “If he was diagnosed as psychopathic, would he have been committed, instead of incarcerated?” The answer that I received from the D.A. was that he would have been committed as criminally insane and probably never released. When we do that, are we stating that his psychosis is probably incurable? What do the doctors do with these types of patients? Keep them sedated? Don’t they receive any treatments?

I keep thinking back to the movie, “One Flew Over The Cuckoos’ Nest.” In that movie, the patients, both mandated and voluntary committed, were put together in group therapy. Is that the way it works? The patients also received drugs that heavily sedated them or spaced out. Does that still go on, or is all of that fictional for the movie’s sake?


A psychopath is born that way? Really? Is that an opinion or fact? I never heard this before.
Click to expand...
911, I pasted that part of an article whose link was posted upthread

https://www.grunge.com/110562/traits-serial-killers-eerily-common/

Most serial killers suffer from some kind of personality disorder. According to the FBI, that's often psychopathy or antisocial personality. The difference between the two is nature vs. nurture: A psychopath is born that way — the impulse control and emotional centers of his or her brain are underdeveloped. By contrast, antisocial personalities are learned, and usually develop during an abusive or neglected childhood. Now, this does not mean serial killers are insane, which is why the "not-guilty by reason of insanity" defense rarely works for a serial killer. In order to be deemed criminally insane, people must demonstrate that when they committed their crimes, they could not tell the difference between right and wrong. Serial killers know very well the difference between right and wrong, they just don't care.

Just passing info, certainly I'm no expert but I have heard these things before.
 
RadishRose said:
911, I pasted that part of an article whose link was posted upthread

https://www.grunge.com/110562/traits-serial-killers-eerily-common/

Most serial killers suffer from some kind of personality disorder. According to the FBI, that's often psychopathy or antisocial personality. The difference between the two is nature vs. nurture: A psychopath is born that way — the impulse control and emotional centers of his or her brain are underdeveloped. By contrast, antisocial personalities are learned, and usually develop during an abusive or neglected childhood. Now, this does not mean serial killers are insane, which is why the "not-guilty by reason of insanity" defense rarely works for a serial killer. In order to be deemed criminally insane, people must demonstrate that when they committed their crimes, they could not tell the difference between right and wrong. Serial killers know very well the difference between right and wrong, they just don't care.

Just passing info, certainly I'm no expert but I have heard these things before.
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OK, I get it, but whenever any defendant uses the defense “not guilty by reason of insanity” the test is generally; did the defendant know the difference between right and wrong? It’s not exclusive to just serial killers. I believe that some states use the court appointed psychiatrist’s opinion of whether the defendant was criminally insane at the time of the murder.

This brings us to the question; what about crimes of passion? Example: I walk into the house and find my wife in bed with a man that I don’t even know. I momentarily lose control of my thinking, grab my gun and shoot one or both of them and killing one or both of them. I have been involved in such a case, only in my case, the husband grab a weapon of opportunity, which was a baseball bat and beat the man to death.

The D.A. charged him with felony homicide. Do you want to know the jury’s verdict? Of course, you do. The jury came back with a “Not Guilty” verdict based on it being a crime of passion, which the judge explained in his instructions to the jury before they left the courtroom for deliberations.

So, a person that kills a person because of a crime of passion, does that make him/her a sociopath or psychopath? If so, why?
 


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