The judge also said:
"You so arranged your life and theirs so that everything was done for the pleasure of Michael Philpott."
Hare's Psychopathy Checklist includes:
2. GRANDIOSE SELF-WORTH -- a grossly inflated view of one's abilities and self-worth, self-assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart. Psychopaths are arrogant people who believe they are superior human beings
The judge said
"You lied to the police and you lied to the jury. Ever since the fire your life has been a performance for the public and the police, and then in this court. Your conduct has been punctuated by collapses and shows of distress designed to evoke sympathy where none is merited, designed to manipulate emotion."
Hare's test says
4. PATHOLOGICAL LYING -- can be moderate or high; in moderate form, they will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever; in extreme form, they will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative, and dishonest.
5. CONNING AND MANIPULATIVENESS- the use of deceit and deception to cheat, con, or defraud others for personal gain; distinguished from Item #4 in the degree to which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present, as reflected in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one's victims.
QED
I don't get your point...are you trying to say that Philpott is mentally ill? Which is what you seemed to suggest to me, in the thread I replied to? His "previous" to me does not suggest this as he went to jail not a mental institution.
In respect of this case, as he was charged with manslaughter there was no intent to kill his kids, so the prosecution had to offer a reason why he did this and they offered following as possible motivations for him setting fire to his house.
1) he was involved in a battle with Lisa Willis over whom looked after their 6 kids and he wanted custody and 2) he wanted a bigger house (from the council) for his family which he had requested on numerous occasions previously.
It has been theorised by others (the press, but I don't think the prosecution) that in respect of point 1) one of the reasons (another to spite Lisa Willis) he wanted custody of the kids was not out of love for them (which seems totally consistent with what he actually did, i.e set fire to his house with them in) but because he wanted the child benefit that would be associated with gaining such custody.