You know you would think that with 27 million adults and about 7 million children with diagnosable mental disorders in the United States more "crazy" people would be killing their family, friends, neighbors and people in the street. But that's not the case. The folks doing the killing are those with heart disease, cancer, and lung disorders. In other words, the so-called "normal" people seem to be doing the killing, one at a time, or in batches. These past couple of weeks we have seen the arrest of a serial killer, and the man they arrested has been a regular churchgoer, Cub Scout leader, city employee, and one who has not been diagnosed with a mental illness. And not too long ago another "normal" person, Scott Peterson, was convicted of murdering his wife and unborn child, with apparently no remorse. What's up? Aren't men like that surely "crazy" or "insane?"

Before we get into that, we need to agree on some terms, or labels, that we'll use to try to shed some light on serial killers, and premeditated murder in general. Let's start with the term "insanity." Insanity is not a psychological creature living within the mind of an individual offender. The term insanity is not from the scientific vocabulary of psychiatry. No psychiatrist nor licensed psychologist would ever diagnose someone as "insane." The word is strictly a legal term used by the courts, and confused and re-molded every day by newspapers, TV, judges, lawyers, the public, and so-called experts with axes to grind. "Insane" is not a useful psychiatric term, even when tediously explained, or muddled, by experts in a court of law.

We've recently read and heard the recent term, "sociopath" used in the media. "Sociopath" is a valid and useful psychiatric term from the profession's DSM-IV, the psychiatric diagnostic "bible." The BTK killer, so prominent in the news for the past couple of weeks, has been described as a sociopath. What is a sociopath? And how can we recognize a sociopathic personality, so that we can protect our children and ourselves from such people? One should know that it isn't easy to discover a sociopath, because a sociopath often seems charming and normal in most social situations. The real person behind that often over-charming psychological disguise generally has a hidden childhood history of inflicting pain on small animals for "kicks." He also has in his background the exploitation, harassing, cheating, robbing, injuring and, finally, murdering anyone he perceives to be blocking him from getting his way, or interfering with his fantasy that he deserves a free rein in all that he does. Yet, he appears to be a "model" citizen to his family and friends.

A sociopath, no matter how many laws he breaks, or whomever he hurts, FEELS NO GUILT. But, he does KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG. Sociopaths feel that their behaviors, even murder, are justified. Here are some things to watch for, according to the DSM-IV, starting with a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, occurring since age fifteen, as indicated by as least three of the following:

1. Repeatedly performing illegal acts that are grounds for arrest. 2. Deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, conning others for personal profit or pleasure. 3. Impulsivity and failure to "see" consequences. 4. Repeated physical fights or criminal assaults. 5. Reckless disregard for safety of self or others. 6. Repeated failure to keep a job, father of multiple abandoned illegitimate children, and other signs of consistent irresponsibility. 7. No remorse from having hurt (murdered?), mistreated, or stolen from others.

To be diagnosed with this mental disorder, in which, remember, he knows right from wrong, a sociopath must be at least 18 years of age. He must also have a history of conduct disorder that began before age fifteen. So, if you are a parent who habitually makes excuses for your child's breaking the law, or being regularly disruptive in school, and vigorously refuses to recognize your legitimate parental authority, you may be building yourself a "sociopath." Experts believe that sociopaths are made, so you may construct your very own "psychopath" in the way you fail to make junior suffer for his misdeeds. A sociopath is not legally "insane?" But he is a "psychopath." A what? A sociopath is a psychopath who is mentally ill, and who knows right from wrong, and can predict the results of his behavior. That is, he has the capacity to premeditate and predict the results of his bizarre behavior, but he doesn't care. Someone "taught" him, during the first fifteen years of his life, that there are no "punishing" consequences for him.

A "psychopath" doesn't have a conscience, but he is able to obey the law when he chooses to, but, in the criminal sense, he simply does as he pleases, and he often pleases to break the law, and sometimes murder folks. But, HE KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING IS WRONG. The psychopath is often the one who claims, "temporary insanity," or as objective professionals in the forensic mental health field call it, a "designer defense."

So, what's a person called who truly doesn't understand that his behavior is "wrong?" Such a person is rare in the courtroom. He is the true "psychotic." The narrowest definition of "psychosis" refers to delusions or hallucinations (DSM-IV) that represent major impairment when given a series of written and verbal tests. The true psychotic's break with reality severely interferes with his capacity to meet the ordinary demands of life. Most objective psychiatrists and licensed psychologists believe that a truly psychotic defendant is a very rare bird. And, they don't believe that people just "snap." Forensic psychiatrists and psychologists agree that nearly every homicide committed by a legally "insane" person has been preceded by years of major signs of irrationality.

The "Treatise of the Medical Jurisprudence of Insanity," by Dr. Isaac Ray, written more than 150 years ago, as a consultant on the textbook "M'Naghten" [spelled correctly here, often misspelled and mispronounced in the media, kk] case, stands today as the definitive work on homicide and "insanity." Using modern computer models, and so-called advances in social [pseudo?] "science" techniques, have added little to Dr. Ray's understanding of the difference between "insanity" and evil. The BTK killer and Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy and Joel Rifkin and Susan Smith, Gary Ridgeway, and, perhaps your neighbor, committed demonic acts, they were not ill to the point of not knowing what they were doing. Yes, they were "psychopaths," but they had the ability to premeditate and escape, for a while, the predictable punishment for their acts. They are/were sociopaths who murdered with no remorse, and the word for them is EVIL. And, if you can't recognize that evil exists, you might be its next victim?

Kenneth Kinchen is an independent writer with a background in international business and foreign service contracting.