One of the killers in my Privileged Killers was the son of a renowned San Francisco, and –no surprise– he got off easy using an insanity defense back in the early 1970s after terrorizing the city for months. While Luigi Mangione isn't charged with serial killings (just killing the CEO of UnitedHealthCare), he did want to use the "Extreme Emotional Distress" (EED) defense which is, let's say, Insanity Lite. Courts in San Francisco County and throughout California allowed a highly specific … [Read more...]
“Dissociation (MPD)” resulted as Psychopathic Dad Trafficked her.
I've written a good deal about the violent consequences of psychopathic behavior: here and here. And while I write about some of the the nonviolent consequences in my book Privileged Killers, I've not written about the dissociation result. As many celebrate the great things dads do on Father's Day in a few days, its makes us even more thankful to know that some dads can do despicable things. Adrian Fletcher MA, PsyD just wrote the following personal piece in Psychology Today about … [Read more...]
Trailer for recently published PRIVILEGED KILLERS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_6judSddQU Ira Einhorn - one of several killers featured in book. Please leave a comment about the trailer. What do you think? Do you like it? Always love feedback, and truly appreciate any book reviews like the "Advance Praise' reviews at the start of my book. See these reviews (and leave your own review) here. … [Read more...]
Insanity in the courtroom: detecting Fakery – Part II
This blog is a continuation of last month's blog about insanity in court cases.A number of years ago, a New York courtroom tried Pedro Hernandez for the murder of Etan Patz who was one of the first missing children to be featured on a milk carton. The defendant said at one point that he put Etan inside a plastic bag and then inside a box and left him a block away from his home in an alleyway with some trash. He said the child was still alive when he abandoned him. He also denied that he had … [Read more...]
Insanity in court cases: Test, Fakery – Part I
As I worked on the footnotes for my soon-to-published Privileged Killers, I wondered how much the insanity test had changed recently. The case I write about in my book, one among a few homicides, showed how a killer got off easy using a mental illness defense. So, insanity is on my mind. In fact, I recently blogged about the speculation that Bryan Kohberger, the suspect in the brutal Idaho stabbing deaths of four, might use mental illness as a defense. Definitions of Insanity. There’ve … [Read more...]
Visual-Snow Effects/Mental Illness-Defenses for Kohberger?
MENTAL HEALTH – DEFENSES FOR KOHBERGER? "The ringing in my ears and the fuzz in my vision is simply all of the demons in my head mocking me " – statement attributed to the Idaho multicide suspect, Bryan Kohberger. Allegedly visual snow plus tinnitus (ringing in the ears from an unknown source) bothered Kohberger enough that he once said he didn't want to live anymore. Allegedly, he also had drug use issues, especially with heroin, and was bullied for being overweight. There are … [Read more...]
Narcissist versus sociopath – which is it?
I've posted a number of blogs about fraudsters Anna Sorokin and Alexander Marc Hatton as well as pieces about the Casanova Scammer and the Tinder Swindler. It's about time now to try to figure out they can be differentiated. So, Narcissist versus sociopath. What're the differences? Using the following two lists, a leading London therapist, psychologist Mark Levrant, weighs in on the attempts to distinguish between the two. Narcissist versus sociopath - how to tell 'em … [Read more...]