Criminology

If a person is deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for a capital crime, should the state be allowed to administer drugs so the person is healthy enough to be tried and sentenced to death? In this program, ABC News correspondent Chris Bury reports on this legal paradox in the case of Russell Weston, a paranoid schizophrenic who allegedly killed two policemen in 1998 and whose lawyers have kept him from medication. The issue is debated by a panel of experts including retired circuit court judge Vincent Femia, forensic psychologist Barbara Kirwin, George Mason University legal scholar Paul Stavis, former federal prosecutor Christopher Tayback, and the defense attorney for Long Island Rail Road shooter Colin Ferguson, Ron Kuby. (23 minutes)

This gripping three-part series enters the world of forensic psychology to illustrate how law enforcement officers and mental health professionals get inside the criminal mind. Captivating case studies from the U.K. and the U.S. provide a real-world context for the techniques and processes described. 3-part series, 46-47 minutes each.

Sane or insane? Court verdicts and parole decisions alike often hinge on that single crucial question. This program explores the intricacies of psychiatric evaluation and parole risk assessment with forensic psychologist Jeremy Coid, clinical psychologists, a probation officer, and others. The Yorkshire Ripper serial murders, the London Nail Bomber case, the Ipswich Rapist case, the 1999 attack on a London church congregation by a naked sword-wielding man, and a parole review involving a composite serial pedophile-a case that neatly illustrates the challenge of balancing society's right for safety against a convict's right to be treated fairly-are profiled. (47 minutes)

The Resolve to Stop the Violence Program places male convicts in highly structured encounter groups, helping them recognize the warped concepts of masculinity behind their violent behavior. This documentary follows nine inmates through the rigorous self-discovery process, recording their growing sense of accountability and willingness to change. With commentary from law enforcement officers, violence-prevention experts, victims' relatives, and the inmates themselves, the video also follows up on RSVP participants after their release, highlighting the ultimate benefit of the program-a dramatic reduction in recidivism among its graduates. (58 minutes)

This two-part series from the BBC archives delves deep into the mind of serial killer Kenneth Bianchi, who nearly convinced a team of psychologists that he suffered from multiple personalities. 2-part series, 60 minutes each.

James Perry lived a double life. On the surface, he was a loving husband and father-but for more than five years, the Madison, Wisconsin, construction worker committed dozens of sexual attacks against children and young women. This ABC News program explains how the man known as the mall rapist" was finally caught, and how his massive collection of digitized images and video provides chilling insight into the mind of a psychopath. Featuring interviews with Perry's former wife and with crime expert Maureen Wall, the program is not only a psychological criminal profile-it also sheds light on ways for parents to protect children from predators. (24 minutes)"

On the day Britain experienced its first-ever suicide bombing, many assumed that those responsible for the carnage must have been deranged foreigners-but they were not. What motivated these four seemingly ordinary young British men? This program conducts a chilling psychological autopsy as it pieces together the mental state of the 7/7 bombers during their final journey. The work of Ariel Merari, of Tel Aviv University, and forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman is spotlighted as they investigate issues of cultural estrangement, group dynamics and the bunch of guys" theory, and the spontaneous formation of extremist cells. A BBCW Production. (50 minutes)"

We do not cure anybody," the director of Atascadero State Hospital's Sexually Violent Predator unit frankly admits. Nevertheless, many in the criminal justice community admire Atascadero's relentless efforts to treat the criminally insane. This MSNBC documentary provides an inside look at the facility, which houses several types of offender-from MDOs, or the mentally disordered, to frighteningly disturbed SVPs-any of whom are eligible to run for a seat on the inmate governing board. Interviews with a number of residents and staff members are combined with a tour of the hospital's sophisticated departments, including a colossal pharmacy that dispenses 12,000 pills per day and an in-house, unarmed police force. At Atascadero, drugs keep the peace. Not available in French-speaking Canada. (43 minutes)"

By his mid-20s, Richard Kuklinski's extreme penchant for murder drew the attention of organized crime and he was hired as a contract killer. Today, he is serving multiple life sentences for nearly 200 homicides. In this powerful program, Dr. Park Dietz, a world-renowned psychiatrist and consultant to the FBI, interviews this remorseless killer, providing important insights into the psychological factors that can lead to such an aberrant pathology. Complementing the one-on-one sessions, police photographs and film footage document Kuklinski's troubled background and numerous victims. Viewer discretion is advised. An HBO Production. (51 minutes)

In this program, Kenneth Bianchi's multiple personality defense begins to unravel, as psychologist Martin Orne and police investigators begin piecing together a disturbing real-life profile of the defendant and his codefendant, Angelo Buono. It is discovered that both men ran a prostitution ring using young women. Suspicious, Orne tricks Bianchi into creating a new personality, which proves he is lying and does not suffer from multiple personality disorder. Results of a Rorschach test are also damning. But when a search of Bianchi's home nets a cache of psychology books and a letter proving that Bianchi posed as a psychologist, he drops his insanity plea, testifies against Buono, and the two are convicted of the murders. A BBC Production. (65 minutes)

What compels a seemingly normal person to disregard a fundamental societal principle and commit murder? In this disturbing program, correspondent Steve Aveson reports on recent scientific research into the behavior of killers. An exclusive interview with serial killer Joel Rifkin, convicted of strangling 17 women, is combined with neurological testing, brain scans, and even information derived from laboratory studies of animal aggression to attempt to shed light on Rifkin's obscure motivation to kill-a motivation that is a mystery even to himself. An ABC News/Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes)

It's a scenario from science fiction: police, predicting the future, arrest citizens before they commit crimes. But the scenario has real-world parallels in psychology. This film examines the PCL-R, or Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, a classification tool used to profile criminals and predict whether or not they will re-offend. In addition to forensic applications, the film shows how the checklist has been modified for use in the corporate world. Interview subjects include Dr. Robert Hare, the University of British Columbia psychology professor who developed the PCL-R, as well as organizational psychologist Dr. Paul Babiak and Simon Fraser University psychology professor Dr. Stephen D. Hart. (47 minutes)