“Shooting for you and for all humanity, I lost my mind. Psychotic, rabid dementia, I'm not going to be okay. – Avenged Sevenfold Although the members of Avenged Sevenfold, a heavy metal band, are not psychotic killers, their lyrics refer to the destruction of other humans. Many people have a morbid curiosity about the mind of a psychopathic murderer. The criminal justice system has a number of specialists trained to study the minds of psychotic killers. Psychopathic killers usually grow up in similar, unstable homes. However, they usually have completely different crime scenes. Most of these killers have different motivations for murdering their victims. Psychopaths are stereotyped. They are presented as vicious and violent people, but in reality they can appear kind. Their common characteristic is their lack of empathy. They lie and manipulate and don't regret or care about what they do. Honestly, they don't care about anything. They cover up their flaws with a charming attitude, so sometimes no one knows how they really act. Outwardly, they do not show any mental disorders and do not hear voices or hallucinate. They are neither confused, nor anxious, nor motivated by overwhelming constraints. They are generally very social and have above average intellect. In fact, evidence suggests that one or two areas of the brain are not enough to produce profound impairments in psychopaths. Psychopaths are misunderstood. Researchers have estimated that approximately 500,000 psychopaths are in the U.S. prison system. Chances are, everyone knows a psychopath. Psychopathy represents 0.5 to 1% of the general population, or approximately 250,000 people living freely, not committing crimes but still taking advantage of those around them. They are notoriously... middle of paper... uh, they know precisely what goes on in the mind of a psychopath (Jadczyk). Psychopathic killers usually grow up in similar, unstable homes. However, they usually have completely different crime scenes. Most of these killers have different motivations for murdering their victims. Work cited Jadczyk, Arkodiusz and Laura Jadczyk, “What is a Psychopath” Cassiopaea.com, 1997-2009. Internet. November 15, 2011. Kiehl, Kent A. and Joshua W. Buckholtz “Inside the Mind of a Psychopath.” Scientific American Mind 21.4 (September/October 2010): 22-29. EBSCO. October 14, 2011.LaBrode, Rebecca Taylor. “Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention” Boston College, 7.2 (2007): 151-160. EBSCO. October 12, 2011.Philbin, Tom. Me, Monster: Serial Killers in Their Own Words. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2010. Print. Woods, Paul Anthony and Errol Morris. “Serial Killers” Fortunecity.com, Web.November 10 2011.