Earl Jones fits sociopath profile: victims

Sunday, February 14, 2010
Ann Sutherland, The Montreal Gazette,

MONTREAL – After Mary Coughlan realized in July that all the money she entrusted to Earl Jones had vanished, she started waking up at 4 a.m. feeling sick with dread. Then, she read a book that she says changed her perspective. The book is "The Sociopath Next Door" by clinical psychologist Martha Stout, and Coughlan was so transformed by what she read she bought eight more copies and handed them around to other victims. According to Stout, one in 25 people is a sociopath, hard to spot, ruthless in their treatment of others and totally lacking in what we call a conscience.

“The book got me over the anger and I realized the kind of man he was. He didn’t care about my anger, so I stopped fretting about it,” Coughlan said. “I suddenly realized where he (Jones) is coming from. The man had no conscience, and nothing could be done to make him different.” There are certain character traits that define a sociopath, and some people who knew Jones for many years, such as Coughlan, agree he fits the bill.

If the word sociopath makes you think of charismatic serial killer Ted Bundy, think again; Stout says it can be the co-worker who blithely lies to the boss about you, a person who “baits people with promises,” or anyone deceitful, reckless, faithless and remorseless. “He has to be a sociopath – he’s not sorry for what he did to me and others, he’s sorry he got caught,” said victim and childhood friend Doris Babbington. Some of the behaviours associated with the clinical definition of a sociopath are manipulation, pathological lying, a sense of entitlement, lack of remorse and shallow emotions. Rating Jones on glibness and superficial charm, another common trait, Graham Tilley, who has known Jones since age 6, rated him nine out of 10.

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Posted by Tracey on 02/14/10 at 12:00 PM • (0) Comments

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