NCJ Number
102221
Date Published
1986
Length
335 pages
Annotation
This book discusses types and methods of murder, characteristics of murderers and their victims, the psychology of murder, murder investigations, capital punishment, and the prevention of criminal homicide.
Abstract
Much of the material is based on psychiatric examinations of over 400 murderers ranging in age from 11 to 80. The murderers interviewed included a mass killer, serial murderers, death row inmates, a Mafia hit man, and terrorist assassins. The author's attendance, in the company of homicide detectives, at over 50 homicide scenes immediately following the crimes also provided data for the book. Other information is taken from decades of forensic psychiatric experience. After reviewing the origins and circumstances of murder, the book probes the murderer's mind and motivation, methods used, and victim characteristics, including victim-precipitated murders. The relationship between violent behavior and various types of mental illness are considered, as is the murderer's urge to confess. Separate chapters cover sex murders, mass murderers, and serial murderers. A chapter on the death penalty discusses execution methods, the executioner, and the interval between sentencing and the execution. A chapter describes the essential elements of a murder investigation, and another reviews various means of preventing homicide. The concluding chapter discusses homicide in fiction. Chapter references and subject index.