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226 SNAKES IN SUITS
freedom to act the candidate actually exerted on his or her past jobs.
There can be many reasons for the candidate to continue to provide
vague answers, including nervousness, forgetfulness, or the fact that
he or she is exaggerating. The interviewer should keep this in mind
while pressing for details.
look for appropriate feelings
One of the hallmarks of a psychopath is the inability to express a full
range of normal emotions. For example, when telling a story that
would normally elicit visible emotional reactions in most people, psychopaths
often come across as cold and shallow, or as B-grade actors.
Psychopaths do not understand what others mean by their “feelings,”
yet they will attempt to mimic them on demand. This often leads
to superficial expressions or even exaggerations of emotion inappropriate
to the event being described. There are many cases of
psychopathic criminals describing the most heinous crimes in a matterof-fact
conversation, to the consternation of interviewers—but they
may also claim to feel remorse or experience religious enlightenment to
the parole board considering their early release. The most stunning examples
of the “emotional disconnect” between feelings and actions are
when serial killers describe their crimes. (See sidebar, page 228)
They Just Don’t Get It: 2
Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka videotaped their torture
and rape of several young women, whom they later killed. As part
of a “battered wife syndrome” plea bargain, Homolka testified
against Bernardo and received a twelve-year sentence. He received
a sentence of twenty-five years before eligibility for parole.
When Bernardo was asked at his trial why he had kept the
tapes, he replied, “I couldn’t bring myself to throw (them) out because
this was the last memory of these girls.”
A police video showed Homolka walking through the house
in which two murders had been committed. She matter-of-