Understanding the neural basis of psychopathy could transform how correctional systems approach rehabilitation and risk assessment. While reduced empathy has long been recognized as central to psychopathic behavior, the specific brain structural patterns underlying these deficits remained unclear until now. This neuroimaging investigation of over 800 incarcerated men reveals that brain surface area, rather than cortical thickness, serves as a reliable biological marker for psychopathic traits. The research employed comprehensive assessments including the gold-standard Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and empathy measures, paired with high-resolution brain scans to map cortical structure. Results demonstrate that men with higher psychopathy scores showed systematically increased surface area across multiple brain regions, with the most pronounced differences occurring in paralimbic areas and somatomotor networks—regions critical for emotional processing and social cognition. Crucially, surface area measurements could predict psychopathy severity in new individuals, suggesting potential clinical utility. The study also clarified that different aspects of psychopathy relate to distinct empathy deficits: interpersonal-affective features correlated with reduced empathic concern, while lifestyle-antisocial traits linked to impaired perspective-taking. This represents the largest and most comprehensive brain-behavior mapping of psychopathy to date, providing unprecedented statistical power to detect reliable associations. The findings challenge simplistic notions of psychopathy as merely 'brain damage' and instead suggest complex neurodevelopmental patterns. For correctional psychology, these biological markers could eventually inform more personalized intervention strategies, though significant ethical and practical hurdles remain before clinical implementation.