Minds on Trial : Great Cases in Law and Psychology

by Ewing, Charles Patrick; McCann, Joseph T.

• ISBN13: 9780195181760
• ISBN10: 019518176X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-03-16
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In recent years, the public has become increasingly fascinated with the criminal mind. Television series centered on courtroom trials, criminal investigations, and forensic psychology are more popular than ever. More and more people are interested in the American system of justice and the individuals who experience it firsthand. Minds on Trial: Great Cases in Law and Psychology gives you an inside view of 20 of the highest profile legal cases of the last 50 years. Drs. Ewing and McCann take you "behind the scenes" of each of these cases, some involving celebrities like Woody Allen, Mike Tyson, and Patty Hearst, and explain the impact they had on the fields of psychology and the law. Many of the cases in this book, whether involving a celebrity client or an ordinary person in an extraordinary circumstance, were determined in part by the expert testimony of a psychologist or other mental health professional. Psychology has always played a vital role in so many aspects of the American legal system, and these fascinating trials offer insight into many intriguing psychological issues. In addition to expert testimony, some of the issues discussed in this entertaining and educational book include the insanity defense, brainwashing, criminal profiling, capital punishment, child custody, juvenile delinquency, and false confessions. In Minds on Trial, the authors skillfully convey the psychological and legal drama of each case, while providing important and fresh professional insights. Mental health and legal professionals, as well as others with an interest in psychology and the law will have a hard time putting this scholarly, yet readable book down.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION	3	(112)
1 GEORGE METESKY
Profiling the "Mad Bomber"	7	(12)
2 LEE HARVEY OSWALD
The Formative Years of an Assassin	19	(12)
3 PATRICIA HEARST
Uncommon Victim or Common Criminal?	31	(14)
4 THE GUILDFORD FOUR
"You Did It, So Why Not Confess?"	45	(12)
5 PROSENJIT PODDAR AND TATIANA TARASOFF
Where the Public Peril Begins	57	(12)
6 DAN WHITE
The Myth of the Twinkie Defense	69	(12)
7 CAMERON HOOKER
Judging the Experts?	81	(10)
8 JOHN W. HINCKLEY, JR.
Shooting for the Stars	91	(12)
9 JUDAS PRIEST
A Message in the Music	103	(12)
10 JOHN DEMJANJUK
Is He "Ivan the Terrible"?	115	(14)
11 THE USS IOWA
Equivocating on Death	129	(12)
12 JEFFREY DAHMER
Serial Murder, Necrophilia, and Cannibalism	141	(12)
13 WOODY ALLEN AND MIA FARROW
A Swing of King Solomon's Sword	153	(12)
14 GARY AND HOLLY RAMONA
Recovered Memories or False Allegations?	165	(12)
15 COLIN FERGUSON
A Fool for a Client?	177	(14)
16 RALPH TORTORICI
A Question of Competence	191	(14)
17 MIKE TYSON
Predicting the Violence of a Professional Fighter	205	(12)
18 DARYL ATKINS
Mental Retardation, Decency, and the Death Penalty	217	(12)
19 ANDREA YATES
An American Tragedy	229	(12)
20 MICHAEL KANTARAS
What Makes a Man a Man?	241	(12)
EPILOGUE	253	(4)
NOTES	257	(26)
INDEX	283