"It was the drugs"

Graeme Burton was a gentle child who used to draw charcoal etchings of birds on his mother's birthday cards. He had a good upbringing and did not go off the rails till he left school when he was 15 to work at a menswear store where he found (drum roll, please) drugs.

"It was the drugs. Up till then he was a normal child," said Glenyss Buchanan, a family friend.

The drugs... well, perhaps. But which ones? Bad ones, obviously.

I have a better explanation. One which explains both why Burton went to jail in the first place, and why he was (tragically) let out.

He's a psychopath. Check out Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). You'll recognise Graeme Burton immediately, no trouble at all. Hare describes psychopaths as "intraspecies predators who use charm, manipulation, intimidation, and violence to control others and to satisfy their own selfish needs. Lacking in conscience and in feelings for others, they cold-bloodedly take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and expectations without the slightest sense of guilt or regret."

Of particular interest, in light of Burton's behaviour over the past few days, are these two criteria from the DSM-IV

• impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
• reckless disregard for safety of self or others

Burton is now in hospital where doctors have amputated his leg above the knee. He's lucky. In other jurisdictions, they would have amputated his head above the neck.