Will Casey Anthony Commit Suicide As A Final Act of Control If She Gets Death Penalty?

by Dr. Lillian Glass

In examining Casey Anthony’s behavior, her body language ,and communication patterns throughout the years, it is my view that there are significant signals of sociopathy or psychopathy. According to the characteristics set forth by Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare in his Hare Scale of Psychopathy, Casey Anthony appears to fit most of the characteristics seen below:

Factor 1: Aggressive narcissism

1. Glibness/superficial charm
2. Grandiose sense of self-worth
3. Pathological lying
4. Cunning/manipulative
5. Lack of remorse or guilt
6. Emotionally shallow
7. Callous/lack of empathy
8. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Factor 2: Socially deviant lifestyle

1. Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
2. Parasitic lifestyle
3. Poor behavioral control
4. Promiscuous sexual behavior
5. Lack of realistic, long-term goals
6. Impulsiveness
7. Irresponsibility
8. Juvenile delinquency
9. Early behavioral problems
10. Revocation of conditional release

Traits not correlated with either factor:

1. Many short-term marital relationships
2. Criminal versatility

When a sociopath or psychopath is cornered and there is no way out for them, they often become severely depressed. Because of that, it is not uncommon for them to commit suicide. That is  what happened with Craigslist Killer, Philip Markoff (right). He knew there was no way out of his predicament. So he found a way to kill himself in his jail cell and as a final act of control, write messages in his own blood on his cell wall. This could possibly happen with Casey Anthony as well.

Sociopaths and psychopaths do not commit suicide for the same reasons non-psychopaths or non-sociopaths would commit suicide. Instead, they commit suicide as a final act of control. So if Casey is found guilty of the crime of murdering her daughter Caylee and is sentenced to death by the State, she may very well attempt suicide and succeed. In doing so, it may serve as her final act of defiance and control. She may commit suicide as an act of controlling her own death on her own terms.

While many may believe that Casey is too narcissistic to kill herself, that may not  at all be the case. If and when she is housed in a prison’s death row, Casey will get a rude awakening.

Right now, she is the center of attention, and she appears to be loving it. She gets to show off her different outfits and hair styles in the courtroom. For Casey, it is important to her that she always look good. That is why you always see her grooming her hair or adjusting her clothing. She also gets the pleasure of seeing her crush and attorney Jose Baez, and whomever else she fancies at the moment. She gets the pleasure of sharing a smile or a laugh with Jose. Most of all , she gets the joy of seeing her parents agonizing over her in the courtroom, while she purposely ignores them. She gets the thrill of knowing that her every move is televised and scrutinized by the press and that she is the subject of websites, news articles and television shows. There is no doubt that she flourishes with all of this attention bestowed upon her.

But if she is found guilty and sentenced to death, all of that external attention will suddenly disappear. Instead, she will experience hours and hours of complete isolation and boredom. There will be a disturbing lack of visual and auditory stimulation on a regular basis.

So stimulus-seeking Casey, who needs all of that attention to survive, may have a terrible time dealing with and tolerating her newly imposed boredom. Because the lack of stimulation may be so intolerable and such torture for her, it would be highly possible for her to attempt to take matters into her own hands and kill herself because she may feel there is no way out.

Even though Casey would no doubt appeal her conviction, the legal process would be agonizingly slow. It could take years. There would not be daily, weekly or even monthly visits from attorneys. Even though she will no doubt continue to receive countless letters from fans who support her innocence, or receive marriage proposals from emotionally disturbed people who are captivated by her beauty, it may not be enough to sustain her.