In many criminal trials, forensic technical evidence is lacking and triers of fact must rely on the reliability of eyewitness statements, identifications, and testimony; however, such reports can be riddled with deceptive statements or erroneous recollections. Based on such considerations, the question arises as to how one should weigh such eyewitness accounts given the theoretical and empirical knowledge in this field. Finding the Truth in the Courtroom focuses on how legal professionals, legal/forensic psychologists, and memory researchers can decide when statements or identifications are based on truthful or fabricated experiences and whether one can distinguish between lies, deception, and false memories. The contributors, key experts in the field, assemble recent experimental work and case studies in which deception or false memory plays a dominant role. Topics discussed relate to the susceptibility to suggestive pressure (e.g., "Under which circumstances are children or adults the most vulnerable to suggestion?"), the fabrication of symptoms (e.g., "How to detect whether PTSD symptoms are malingered?"), and the detection of deceit (e.g., "Which paradigms are promising in deception detection?"), among others. By using this approach, this volume unites diverse streams of research (i.e., deception, malingering, false memory) that are involved in the reliability of eyewitness statements.

Designed to serve as a complete reference guide for psychiatrists, social workers, those working in law enforcement, and students of forensic medicine and psychology Understanding Necrophilia: A Global Multidisciplinary Approach features the writing of experts from around the world who share professional, cultural, social, and legal insights on the subject. This interdisciplinary text provides a balanced and applied approach to studying necrophilia, and examines the phenomenon from the perspectives of abnormal and social psychology, cultural sociology, criminology, criminal justice, forensic anthropology, medical pathology, and legal systems. Specific topics include historical, legal, definitional, and ethical issues surrounding necrophilia, its etiology, paraphilic co-morbidities, and various typologies and links to homicide. Comprehensive and ground-breaking, Understanding Necrophilia is a well-researched, fearless academic examination of a topic that is both challenging and disturbing, and the author contributions are informative yet sensitive. Understanding Necrophilia can serve as a stand-alone text and is also an excellent supplement to standard textbooks on forensic psychology, criminology, and sexual deviance.

Convicted sexually violent predators are more vilified, more subject to media misrepresentation, and more likely to be denied basic human rights than any other population. Shaming the Constitution authors Michael Perlin and Heather Cucolo question the intentions of sex offender laws, offering new approaches to this most complex (and controversial) area of law and social policy. The authors assert that sex offender laws and policies are unconstitutional and counter-productive. The legislation largely fails to add to public safety-even ruining lives for what are, in some cases, trivial infractions. Shaming the Constitution draws on law, behavioral sciences, and other disciplines to show that many of the "solutions" to penalizing sexually violent predators are "wrong," as they create the most repressive and useless laws. In addition to tracing the history of sex offender laws, the authors address the case of Jesse Timmendequas, whose crime begat "Megan's Law;" the media's role in creating a "moral panic;" recidivism statistics and treatments, as well as international human rights laws. Ultimately, they call attention to the flaws in the system so we can find solutions that contribute to public safety in ways that do not mock Constitutional principles.

A new perspective on why false charges occur, proceed and persist which looks at the roles of psychopathology, confirmation bias, false confessions, the media and internet among other causes. Puts lack of empathy at the fore in terms of police, prosecutors and others whilst considering a wide range of other psychopathological aspects of false convictions. Based on first-hand knowledge or involvement (David Anderson was Stefan Kiszko's endocrinologist and attended both his and the Knox/Sollecito trial). What drives false but serious criminal charges and why do police and prosecutors often persist against those wrongly in the dock? As this book shows-by looking at three high profile cases, those of Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito (Italy), Stefan Kiszko (UK) and Darlie Routier (USA)-motive forces are a mind-set in which psychopathy (what the authors charitably term 'constitutional negative empathy') may be present and in which confirmation bias (the need to reinforce a decision once made or lose face) plays a large part.Darlie Routier is still on death row in Texas despite overwhelming evidence that her conviction for killing her own child is false, whilst Knox, Sollecito and Kiszko have been vindicated by the highest and best of authority and compelling evidence. The authors show how wholly unfounded rumours still persist in the Knox/Sollecito case due to hostile media and internet trolling. In the Routier case they advance a new theory that the killings (two in all) were in fact the work of a notorious serial killer.'In the light of all this, questionable trial procedures need to be overhauled, with much greater recognition of (their) imperfections and of the general imbalance in favour of the prosecution. Greater weight needs to be given...to establishing real, rather than merely judicial, truth' - (Chapter 11).

This book "And nothing but the truth" is designed to provide specific tools and techniques most valuable for witness and suspect interviewing. Chapter 1 deals with sophisticated NLP techniques used to establish the important rapport with the witness or suspect, and with visualization techniques aimed at overcoming denial and resistance. Chapter 2 is about the necessary preparations for an interview, the personality of the interviewer, and the interview setting. The anamnesis (or curriculum vitae) is presented as a means to calibrate the suspect's or witness' individual expression style. The knowledge of the suspect's or witness' individual expression style is of major importance when you have to decide upon a specific interview approach, and when you want to tell lies in the witness or suspect's body language. At the end of Chapter 2 the author discusses legal and ethical aspects of the interview. Chapter 3 covers the initial motivation phase. With the aid of a sentence by sentence transcript, you will learn how to get the witness or suspect into the right mood for telling the truth and/or make a confession. Chapter 4 deals with the different interview approaches used with the different types of subjects. The sentence by sentence transcript is a sample for DUI and hit-and-run offenses. The transcript not only provides the specific questions you should ask to get the information you need, but also explains why you should ask that specific question at that particular time, and what a specific answer should tell you. Chapter 5 is about nonverbal and verbal clues to deceit. You will learn how to detect lies watching the subject's body language and analyzing his verbal statements. Become a living lie detector

In this book, Chapter One begins with a discussion on the use of dogs in the courtroom. Chapter Two explores the research on the criminal narratives of general offending populations, and introduces new insight into Mentally Disordered Offenders (MDOs), and the impact various mental disorders may have on the structure of criminal narratives. Chapter Three critically examines the link between personality disorders and violent offending, and raises several issues that have obscured its nature. Chapter Four reviews the status of Life Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior, as well as its importance for providing future directions for the study of crime and criminal behavior in the next half century. Chapter Five reviews the nature and causes of quality-of-life crime, the indicators for measuring or benchmarking the extent of quality-of-life crime, the development of the Quality-of-Life Crime Index (QLCI), and the practical, policy and research implications of this index. Chapter Six analyses taxi drivers everyday security practices in their networks and nodes, calling attention to their conception of space and their risk management techniques.

The readings in The Nature and Theory of Crime represent the eighteen most influential theories and perspectives in criminology. Each reading, while accessible to the student-reader, has been chosen to represent the complexity of theoretical issues in the field. Students will explore the classical, biological, and control perspectives, the influence of neighborhoods and communities on crime, labeling theories, feminist criminology, and more. The text teaches readers to understand both the concepts described within numerous theories and the criteria used to evaluate criminological theory. Readers will also learn how theoretical concepts are developed and how theoretical hypotheses are tested. They will become familiar with the empirical support related to major theories and the policy and program implications of each theory. Lastly, they will come to see how the study of criminological theory is related to real-world criminal justice practice. Each reading is framed by an original introduction to provide context and discussion questions to support retention, critical thinking, and classroom engagement. The Nature and Theory of Crime is designed for upper-division undergraduate courses in criminology, criminal justice, and sociology.

This book provides an overview of Asphyxial Deaths which includes hanging, strangulation, choking, smothering, gagging, drowning, aspiration, mechanical and chemical asphyxiants, etc. Postmortem examination often leads to doubts as a clear distinction between the different type of asphyxia cannot be made easily. Forensic and physiological aspects are discussed with the help of illustrative cases. The author discusses the different aspects of asphyxia deaths and substantiates multiple case studies to establish a scientific approach that can act as a guideline to the autopsy surgeon in providing a precise opinion and clarify doubts for the judiciary involved in such criminal justice cases. Key Features * Presents individual case studies of Asphyxial deaths. * Covers the guidelines to be followed by the autopsy surgeons in different cases. * Discusses the physiological aspects of Asphyxial deaths in detail. * Illustrates the cases in a stepwise manner with more than 350 colored photographs of postmortem examination.

Detecting Deception offers a state-of-the-art guide to the detection of deception with a focus on the ways in which new cognitive psychology-based approaches can improve practice and results in the field. * Includes comprehensive coverage of the latest scientific developments in the detection of deception and their implications for real-world practice * Examines current challenges in the field - such as counter-interrogation strategies, lying networks, cross-cultural deception, and discriminating between true and false intentions * Reveals a host of new approaches based on cognitive psychology with the potential to improve practice and results, including the strategic use of evidence, imposing cognitive load, response times, and covert lie detection * Features contributions from internationally renowned experts