Psychopaths constitute less than 1% of the general population but over 20% of prison populations. They commit a disproportionate amount of crime and violence in society. Given that the economic burden of crime in the United States is estimated to be over $2.3 trillion per year, psychopaths likely constitute one of the most expensive mental health conditions known today. This volume chronicles the latest science of psychopathy and the various ways the condition intersects with the criminal justice system. From the modern techniques to assess the symptoms, to its utility in predicting violent recidivism, to the latest neuroscience youth and adults, and the most promising avenues for treatment, this volume captures the modern science of the condition and discusses ethical and legal issues surrounding psychopaths.

In the bestselling tradition of "The Psychopath Test" and "The""Sociopath Next Door," a compelling journey into the science and behavior of psychopaths in our lives, written by the leading scientist in the field of criminal psychopathy.
Why do psychopaths behave the way they do? Is it the result of their environment--how they were raised--or is there a genetic component to their lack of conscience? This is the question Kent A. Kiehl, a protegee of famed psychopath researcher Robert Hare, was determined to answer as he began his career. Kiehl, who created the world's first mobile MRI scanner to study psychopaths in prison populations, has collected the world's largest repository of forensic neuroscience. Over the last decade, he has scanned the brains of more than five hundred psychopaths, and three thousand other offenders. Over the course of "The Psychopath Whisperer," we follow the scientific bread crumbs that Kiehl uncovered to show that the key structures in the brains that correspond with emotional engagement and reactions to stimuli are diminished in psychopaths, offering new clues to how to predict and treat the disease.
In "The Psychopath Whisperer," Kiehl describes in fascinating detail his two decades in working with psychopaths and studying their thought processes--from the remorseless serial killers he meets with behind bars to children whose behavior and personality traits exhibit the early warning signs of psychopathy.
A compelling narrative of cutting-edge science, "The Psychopath Whisperer "will open the reader's eyes on a world that so many of us know only through the lens of Hannibal Lecter and the "Dexter "TV series--but with which we have a helpless fascination.