Lee Wuornos Case Summary

I. Summary

A. Summarize the case provided. In your summary, include key facts and demographic information. [PSY-310-01] B. Develop initial hypothesis about the potential motivation to commit the crime. As you consider the motivation, identify the type of crime that was committed. [PSY-310-02]

Aileen “Lee” Wuornos, was arrested, convicted, and executed for the murder of seven men in the state of Florida, between 1989-1990. Aileen would claim that each of these murders was done in self-defense of the men who had raped her. Aileen was known throughout central Florida as a highway prostitute. She would utilize the highway systems throughout the state to lure men. Aileen used this profession to help pay her way and survive for many years, until

Aileen meets the DSM-IV-TR criteria for both a borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. Clinical evidence was also available through a psychopathic checklist for a diagnosis of psychopathic personality disorder, leaving Aileen with a rating of 32 (Myers, Gooch, & Meloy, 2005). Scientific evidence has proven that the development of psychopathic characteristics is attributed to biological and environmental influences. Aileen, like her father, carried the personality characteristics of psychopathic personality disorder at the time of their arrest. The genetic influences, combined with the environmental flaws that both were raised with could be contributory factors for the callous-emotionless traits that were witnessed through both of their behaviors. Many of the crimes Aileen committed were characteristic of psychopathic personality disorder, such as a lack of empathy for victims, and deficient emotional responses (Anderson & Kiehl, 2014). A psychopathic personality disorder is commonly associated with the most severe and extreme forms of antisocial behaviors (Psychopathy: What Is It, How to Test for It, and the Case of Aileen Wuornos,