Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Touching Evil: Getting To Know A Serial Killer



Touching Evil: Getting to know a serial killer is the title given to a three part series published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The story surrounds a class of senior forensic science majors at Dunquesne University who contacted and corresponded with the serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson for a class project. Keith Hunter Jesperson murdered at least eight women between 1990 and 1995.

Background To The Forensic Science Project

The idea for the project was put forward by course teacher Ronald Freeman as a way of providing students with an alternative perspective on forensic investigation. "In school, they talk to professors, scientists, and I'm an ex-cop. They get our perspective on the criminal justice system. I thought, 'Why not try to look at it from a different side?'"

Having suggested and ascertained that the forensic science class wanted to contact Jesperson, approval was also sought from the students parents, the director of the forensic science and law degree program and the dean of the school.

Making Contact

Click Here to read the first letter the forensic science students sent to serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson.

In addition to the original letter, a further dozen or so were exchanged between Jesperson and the forensics class and on the 5th of November the class held a live Q&A session with Jesperson via conference call.

Audio Excerpts

You can listen to several excerpts from the conference call by clicking on the following links.

How Jesperson Killed His Victims

The Happy Face Killer Nickname

Things Jesperson Regrets

What Compelled Jesperson To Kill

Why Jesperson Agreed To Particpate In The Class Project

What Went through Jesperson's Mind As He Killed

What Do You Think About This Project

My personal view is that generally speaking it evokes all the normal reactions associated with anything to do with serial killers i.e., compelling, fascinating, intriguing etc but I have to say that this project makes me feel very uncomfortable on a number of levels.

I have no doubt that the intentions of the project were honorable and genuinely designed to provide a unique learning experience for the students involved, but I am struggling to see how this experience would translate into improved forensic investigation skills and/or knowledge in the field.

Even if this could be qualified in some way I strongly believe that Jesperson got so much more out of this that the students ever could, not least beacuse it provided him with the perfect platform to do what he loves doing best, namely manipulating, dominating and controlling. The following quotes from class members were just two of many that made me wince.

"I had no idea that he was going to turn out to be actually such a pretty nice guy aside from the fact that he killed a bunch of people."

"I guess I expected someone who would be a little more harsh and callous, but he was really nice, like an uncle kind of nice, which is kind of strange,"

I also found aspects of the reporting crass in the extreme. The start of second part of the Touching Evil: Getting to know a serial killer series begins:

The student's blood-red T-shirt was a big hit. "Friends help you move," the front said. And on the back, "Real friends help you move a body." The dark humor was dead-on funny for the 30 Duquesne University forensic science and law majors.

Gallows humor is common place within the forensic community and serves as a useful coping mechansim, but it's nearly always kept in-house and I think to document something like this in such a public way shows a basic lack of respect for the victims and the their families, however, unintentional.

You can have your say by clicking on the comments link at the end of the post.

More Information

A number of video clips regarding this project have been produced which can be accessed by Clicking Here

You can read the first part of the Touching Evil: Getting to know a serial killer series by Clicking Here

You can read the second part of the Touching Evil: Getting to know a serial killer series by Clicking Here

Related Reading

"I": The Creation of a Serial Killer by Jack Olsen



Library Journal Book Review

During the 1990s, the Pacific Northwest was besieged by a serial killer, Keith Hunter Jesperson, who taunted the police for incarcerating the wrong people for one of his eight victims; he signed his letter to the police with a happy face and hence became known as the Happy Face Killer.

Renowned true-crime author Olsen (Hastened to the Grave) uses diaries, court records, and interviews with the killer himself to present Jesperson's version of why he became a serial killer and how he killed his victims. As a truck driver, he was able to travel cross-country and kill young women who, he thought, were going to present a problem for him. With each of his victims, he played a "death game" in which he choked them, then revived them a few times before killing them.

The book's flaw is that it is one-sided. The reader is not told how law enforcement officers caught on to Jesperson or about the trial. Nor does it provide details as to what happened to the wrongly convicted. Nevertheless, Olsen's popularity in the genre will make this a popular choice for public libraries.

For more details and/or to get hold of this book, just click on the following link.

I: The Creation of a Serial Killer

UK Visitors Click Here



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A Free & Comprehensive Guide to The World of Forensic Psychology

Touching Evil: Getting To Know A Serial Killer

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Forensic Psychology Book of The Month (December)

Forensic Psychology

Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice by David Carson et al



Book Description

Psychology and Law has made enormous strides during the last three decades. It now incorporates a much wider range of topics and has seen a marked international growth in specialist journals, books and conferences. The focus, until now, has been on research and academic membership rather than on practical applications and participation by practitioners, psychologists or lawyers, something this volume aims to change.

This book develops the case for successfully applying psychology to law, and criminal justice in particular, by providing a rich range of applicable examples for development, now and in the future. In Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice psychologists are encouraged to challenge the currently relatively limited ambition and imagination of psychology and law by examining, amongst other aspects:

The relevance of offenders’ methods of thinking and concepts to criminal responsibility.

The ways in which psychology might be used to inform analyses of corporate responsibility for systems failure.

How analyses of decision-making under pressure are most effectively undertaken.

How psychological research and insights might be applied to the investigation and analysis of system failure.

This text is an important addition to the bookshelves of forensic, legal, clinical, and occupational psychologists, students, and criminal justice personnel: police, probation, prisons. Also essential reading for investigators, lawyers, law reform agencies, and those government departments concerned with home, constitutional, law reform agendas.

For more details and/or to get hold of this recommended forensic psychology book, just click on the following link.

Applying Psychology to Criminal Justice

UK Visitors Click Here



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www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com

A Free & Comprehensive Guide to The World of Forensic Psychology

Forensic Psychology Book of The Month (December)

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Psychopathology in The Workplace

Forensic Psychology



(Photo Credit: Juicystyle)

Came across another excellent psychology podcast on psychopathology in The workplace courtesy of Shrink Rap Radio. The broadcast features an interview with clinical and forensic psychologist Laurence Miller, Ph.D.

You can listen to the podcast interview in full by Clicking Here

Related Reading



Book Description

How does an already busy manager deal with people whose personalities are difficult or even seriously disturbed? The answer lies in using practical psychology to understand just what it is that makes them tick, whether it’s something as common as being introverted or extroverted...or something much more serious. From Difficult to Disturbed helps readers become better managers by providing insight into both big and small people-problems that can seriously disrupt the workplace if they’re not handled correctly. The book contains down-to-earth solutions for dealing with:

  • Personality Types: including avoidant, dependent, histrionic, narcissistic, or antisocial workers.


  • Common People Problems: such as unproductive, angry, uncooperative, or chronic problem employees.


  • Mental Disorders: such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety and panic disorders, as well as alcohol and substance abuse.


  • Every workplace is filled with a wide range of personalities. This book gives managers the insight, understanding, and tools they need to get the best from those who present the toughest problems.

    For more details and/or to get hold of this book, just click on the following link.

    From Difficult to Disturbed: Understanding and Managing Dysfunctional Employees

    UK Visitors Click Here



    Additional Information: Psychopaths in The Workplace

    There is a "Understanding The Psychopath" page on the main forensic psychology website which includes a link to an excellent BBC radio programme on Robert Hare's research into psychopathic behaviour in the workplace.

    You can visit the page and access the link by Clicking Here

    Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work



    Editorial Review

    Let's say you're about to hire somebody for a position in your company. Your corporation wants someone who's fearless, charismatic, and full of new ideas. Candidate X is charming, smart, and has all the right answers to your questions. Problem solved, right? Maybe not.

    We'd like to think that if we met someone who was completely without conscience -- someone who was capable of doing anything at all if it served his or her purposes -- we would recognize it. In popular culture, the image of the psychopath is of someone like Hannibal Lecter or the BTK Killer. But in reality, many psychopaths just want money, or power, or fame, or simply a nice car. Where do these psychopaths go? Often, it's to the corporate world.

    Researchers Paul Babiak and Robert Hare have long studied psychopaths. Hare, the author of Without Conscience, is a world-renowned expert on psychopathy, and Babiak is an industrial-organizational psychologist. Recently the two came together to study how psychopaths operate in corporations, and the results were surprising. They found that it's exactly the modern, open, more flexible corporate world, in which high risks can equal high profits, that attracts psychopaths. They may enter as rising stars and corporate saviors, but all too soon they're abusing the trust of colleagues, manipulating supervisors, and leaving the workplace in shambles.

    Snakes in Suits is a compelling, frightening, and scientifically sound look at exactly how psychopaths work in the corporate environment: what kind of companies attract them, how they negotiate the hiring process, and how they function day by day. You'll learn how they apply their "instinctive" manipulation techniques -- assessing potential targets, controlling influential victims, and abandoning those no longer useful -- to business processes such as hiring, political command and control, and executive succession, all while hiding within the corporate culture. It's a must read for anyone in the business world, because whatever level you're at, you'll learn the subtle warning signs of psychopathic behavior and be able to protect yourself and your company -- before it's too late.

    See following link for more details:

    Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work

    Visitors From The UK Click Here



    How you doin? Let people know with our unique personality trait t-shirts and gifts. Whatever your mood, express it with style with our innovative design range. Or why not show your family and friends that you know what makes them tick; psychological profiling has never been so cool and a new forensic range has just been added.

    Any profit made from the Personality Trait Cafepress store will be put towards the hosting and development costs associated with the All About forensic psychology and All About forensic science websites.

    Click Here to visit the Personality Trait CafePress Store.





    www.all-about-forensic-psychology.com

    A Free & Comprehensive Guide to The World of Forensic Psychology

    Psychopathology in The Workplace