A high score on the PCL-R is used to diagnose psychopathy. The article in question concerns the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R), which is commonly administered in serious criminal cases to help make sentencing decisions as well as in prisons and psychiatric hospitals to determine suitability for release. It finally appeared in the journal's June issue, but the whole affair has raised questions about how legal threats can impact the progress of psychological science. In the process the paper, which was accepted for publication in 2007 by Psychological Assessment, was delayed three years. A leading psychopathy researcher has used the threat of legal action to have changes made to a research paper critical of a widely used criminological rating scale he developed 20 years ago.
