A natural subject for the UK's bestselling true-crime author: a study of people who randomly kill large numbers of others, or
...A natural subject for the UK's bestselling true-crime author: a study of people who randomly kill large numbers of others, or
...Leading crime expert Christopher Berry-Dee gained the trust of some of the most infamous convicted killers, having corresponded
...A chilling study of murderers’ minds. The plea of insanity in criminal cases can be traced back at least to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, which dates from 1755-1759 BC. It is a complicated defence, & its origins in modern law lie with the 'M' Naghten Rules' of 1843, formulated by British judges as a jury instruction in cases where a plea of insanity had been entered. Daniel M' Naghten shot & killed one Edward Drummond, believing him to be the British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, & was acquitted on the grounds of insanity, & the M' Naghten Rules still exert considerable influence over defences today. Clearly a plea of insanity in murder cases is of critical importance when the death penalty is still applied, & even today it may still be the difference between a life sentence in a high-security prison, or an indeterminate one in a secure psychiatric hospital. Meanwhile, 27 of the USA's 50 states have retained or readopted the death penalty, & at least 54 other countrie...