There is only One Word for Casey Anthony: Psychopath

by Pat Brown

Give up attempting to understand Casey Anthony or what makes her tick; she is a psychopath and that makes her the kind of person you shouldn't waste time trying to figure out. The argument over whether psychopaths are born or made – nature versus nurture – will continue decade after decade, century after century. For all of our scientific progress, why a person becomes evil, chooses to murder simply for the fun or convenience of it, is something likely to remain a mystery forever. She is a snake, a snake who needs to be caged or exterminated if found guilty of murder, regardless of how she turned into a serpent.

Let's take a look at the nurture aspect of Casey. Many think that her home was severely dysfunctional. I tend to agree that there was a bit of a twisted dynamic going on there, a battle of wills and a fight for power and control between Cindy and Casey; the two men, George and Lee basically just got out of the of the line of fire. Cindy appears to have a pretty high level of narcissism herself, which is not unusual to find in one parent of a psychopathic individual. An absent or distant father figure, either physically or emotionally, also is often in the mix.

Usually, if there is a set of parents in the home, we tend to find one parent, usually the male, who is cold, stern or uncommunicative with the child and the other parent, usually the female, who then overcompensates by giving far too much and coddling the child as she is growing up. Sometimes, that female is actually narcissistic, and what looks like love can be more about being the winner within the couple, getting more of the attention from the child, and controlling what happens. We sometimes see this narcissism lead to Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a personality disorder in which the caretaker of the child uses the child as a pawn to gain massive attention, sometimes even causing the child to become ill or die just to get a jolt of importance.

Then again, sometimes we don't see too much amiss with the parents at all, and, yet, they are still stuck with a psychopathic kid who they have no idea what to do with.

We also see an increase in psychopathy when there is some kind of attachment disorder occurring at a very young age; children who have been abandoned to orphanages or tossed around the foster care system so often that they have trouble connecting with human beings. This can lead as well to serious personality disorders.

Then, we mix in the individual personality and the cultural issues, financial issues, etc., stir, and whammo, a psychopath emerges, usually by the age of eight, if not by the even earlier age of five, which I have observed in children not even in school and find quite disconcerting. What then? Well, not much, because at this point treatment usually fails and the only thing that has an effect of sorts is behavior modification.

Essentially, once you are dealing with a psychopath, the only way to improve their choices is to show them a way to get what they want in a way that will be less trouble. You can't impress upon them that doing right is a good thing or making others happy is worth it, but you can help them find a way to get what they want in a less destructive way. Dr. Stanton Samenow who spent years at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, DC, recognized how the criminal mind was rigidly set, could not be changed, and, therefore, he set out to find ways to deal with what simply was a reality.

So, I don't know how Casey Anthony got to be a psychopath, but there she is-lying, manipulating, ignoring how others feel, seeking constant attention, and wanting to have her way all the time. She exhibits the hallmarks of psychopathy; total narcissism and complete lack of empathy for anyone else, including her own daughter. When she does act like she cares, she is doing just that: acting. This is a recognizable trait of a psychopath that Casey exhibits because one can see how quickly she can change mood or expression.

I remember walking in on a "friend" I later realized had a serious personality disorder. She was sobbing on the phone to her boyfriend, telling him how horrible she was feeling, how upset she was. When she saw me, she put the phone down in her lap, flashed me a big smile and mouthed "I'll be with you in a sec!" and then went back to sobbing on the phone. When she hung up, she turned to me just as cheerful as ever, lit a cigarette, and started chatting about our evening plans. The friendship didn't last long after that. I didn't trust much genuine was going to come from this particular woman.

Sound like Casey? You bet. And you can see those same behaviors in murderers like Darlie Routier, Scott Peterson, Karla Homolka, and just about any serial killer you can think of.

If the jury takes a look at Robert Hare's list of psychopathic traits, I am sure they can check just about every one of them off for Casey.

• Glibness/superficial charm
• Grandiose sense of self-worth
• Pathological lying
• Cunning/manipulative
• Lack of remorse or guilt
• Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric)
• Callous/lack of empathy
• Failure to accept responsibility for own actions
• Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
• Parasitic lifestyle
• Poor behavioral controls
• Lack of realistic long-term goals
• Impulsiveness
• Irresponsibility
• Juvenile delinquency
• Early behavior problems

Why is it important to know what Casey Anthony is? Because knowing she is a psychopath means she is perfectly capable of murder. The jury needs to recognize this, add this information to the body of physical and circumstantial evidence the prosecution has presented, and convict the snake.

Not all psychopaths are murderers, but most murderers are psychopaths. I believe Casey Anthony is both and needs to be removed from society permanently so she can't do any more harm. And, Caylee, innocent little Caylee, deserves justice.

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Cherish Lewis Should Go Free

by Robin Sax

On July 24 2009, Judge Frederick Crow of Scioto County, Ohio, ordered 22-year-old Cherish Lewis, mother of five-year-old Jaelyn Rice, to turn over her child to the girl's father. But Cherish refused. Why? Because Cherish had information from Children’s Services that her daughter had been physically and sexually abused. Children's Services named the father, Stephen Rice, as the alleged perpetrator. For six months, Judge Crow has held Ms. Lewis in contempt of court for not producing the child. To add insult to injury, this judge has ordered Cherish Lewis to remain in custody until she surrenders the girl.

Little Jaelyn is in hiding (not wanting to return to her abusive father). And Cherish, the protective mother? She remains in jail today for trying to keep her daughter safe and away from the abusive father.

Are you confused? So am I. The facts of this case are beyond outrageous:

Evidence of physical and sexual abuse of Jaelyn has been presented to the court in Ohio. Pictures taken by law enforcement immediately following visitation with the father, Rice, depict dozens of bruises, indicating abuse of Jaelyn at different times. Why has this evidence been ignored by the court!? A Children’s Services case worker testified that the father initially said he didn’t know how the little girl sustained the injuries. He later said that the bruises came from an accident the little girl had had while fishing on a pier.

On two occasions, Children’s Services has substantiated the physical and sexual abuse—naming the father as the alleged perpetrator. There is also extensive testimony from Ohio medical experts, Scioto County Children’s Services, a guardian ad litem, and law enforcement validating the abuse allegations.

The little girl disclosed sexual assaults in Oceanside, California, and also in Tampa, Florida, while visiting with her father. Why isn't the court looking into the allegations? Both agencies failed to investigate the allegations of abuse and Oceanside Police stated that the father is a “likeable guy” and has chosen to ignore medical reports and Scioto County Children’s Services substantiation of sexual abuse so no actual charges have been filed against the father. Both departments keep pointing their fingers at the other, not wanting to take the lead in an investigation. Therefore, the father, Stephen Rice, remains free while the mother, Cherish Lewis, is in jail.

Judge Crow has ignored evidence of abuse in two separate hearings and each time ordered Jaelyn back to the father, the alleged offender. Judge Crow then granted custody to the father in February 2008. WHAT!?

At one point during a court hearing, the judge turned it around and suggested that Lewis had a condition called Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy—a type of child abuse in which an attention-seeking parent fabricates or causes symptoms of various medical conditions in the child. This claim was later negated by testimony of a professional clinical counselor who spent time with Lewis.

On April 10, 2009, Ohio's 4th District Court of Appeals overturned the order granting the father custody—which just sent the case back to Crow.

Judge Crow ignored pleas from the mother, Cherish Lewis, to reconsider the evidence of physical and sexual abuse and to hear new evidence of sexual abuse substantiated by Children’s Services, of which Judge Crow had not heard. Crow issued an order that Lewis was to return the child to the father that day. Judge Crow then held Ms. Lewis in contempt of court for not producing Jaelyn. He ordered that Cherish stay in jail until she relinquishes her child. Again, Cherish remains in jail today. Meanwhile, Jessica Lewis (caption photo), Cherish's 19-year-old little sister and Jaelyn's aunt, faces charges of interfering with Rice's custody.

According to court testimony, when a minor, Stephen Rice was alleged to have sexually abused a four-year-old child. He is now twenty-five years old. Rice served in the Marines for two years, but was discharged. He says it was for failing a drug test. Since getting out of the Marines three years ago, Rice has moved twelve times.

There are several other cases on record where Judge Crow has granted an abusive or unfit father custody of the children. What is wrong with this judge!?

Judge Crow clearly has an unfounded bias in this case. During court proceedings, he said Cherish is “overly protective of her child.” I would be "overly protective" too if a judge were ordering me to give over my child to an abuser (even, and especially, if he was the father). The judge accused Cherish of having Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy (defined above) and/or Parental Alienation Syndrome, which is defined as false or unfounded accusations of abuse against a parent—usually the father. But many of the therapists who treated both Jaelyn and Cherish testified in the various hearings that Cherish did not act in a manner consistent with Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy or Parental Alienation Syndrome.

Why is the judge villainizing the mother in this case and granting custody to an abuser? Lewis has tremendous evidence against Rice to substantiate that he is a sexual predator and also, clearly, has violent tendencies.

You might think that this is a one-in-a million case, where a judge grants an abusive parent custody. But you would be wrong. In a recent article by Kathleen Russell, "Child Abuse: When Family Courts Get it Wrong," Russell argues that many states too often award custody to the abusive parent. She says, according to one conservative estimate, that family courts order more than 58,000 children per year in the U.S. into unsupervised contact with physically or sexually abusive parents following divorce or separation. This is an unacceptable statistic!

Many groups, including Action Ohio, Bikers Against Child Abuse, NOW Ohio, PAVE Survivor Justice, The Justice League of Ohio, Kourts for Kids, and many individuals are rallying for Cherish Lewis. They have come together to demand Cherish be released and justice delivered for her and Jaelyn. The groups got together on the Ohio courthouse steps to protest her incarceration following the ruling in July 2009. Unfortunately, Cherish remains in jail today and was not reunited with her daughter for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's, and missed her little boy’s first birthday. This is a true tragedy.

If you are outraged, voice your protest by visiting http://www.cherishourchildren.net/

If you would like to send a letter of support to Cherish herself, here is the address:

Ms. Cherish Lewis

c/o Scioto County Jail

1025 16 Street

Portsmouth, Ohio 45662

You can find more information about this case at the Web site above, which is dedicated to Cherish Lewis and her daughter—as well as all other abused children who remain helpless, endangered, and denied access to justice.

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