Murder and Society

Human psychological and physical well-being is damaged and destroyed when people are deliberately killed by other people. There are millions of primary and secondary victims of murder throughout the world, and human society as a whole is a tertiary victim of murder. Despite this, people are often fascinated and engrossed by stories of homicide and killers. This book provides a fascinating exploration of murder, providing an insight into what leads people to kill and what effect this has on society as a whole. This book is organized into five chapters that each answer a specific question on murder:

• What is Murder?
• Who Commits Murder?
• Why Commit Murder?
• Why is Murder Devastating?
• Why is Murder Fascinating?

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

Chapter 1: What is murder?

Chapter 2: Who commits murder?

Chapter 3: Why commit murder?

Chapter 4: Why is murder devastating?

Chapter 5: Why is murder fascinating?

Conclusion.

References.

Index.

"Peter Morrall draws on a wide range of cross-cultural and historical material to support his points." (Therapy Today, July 2007) Peter Morrall is Head of Mental Health, Learning Disabilities and Behavioural Sciences, in the School of Health Care, University of Leeds. He has published several books and papers in the areas of sociology and mental health, including Madness and Murder, published by Whurr in 2000. What is murder? Who commits murder? Why commit murder? Why is murder devastating? Why is murder fascinating?

Human physical and psychological well-being is damaged and destroyed when people are deliberately killed by other people. There are millions of primary and secondary victims of murder throughout the world, and human society, as a whole, is a tertiary victim of murder. Despite this, people are often engrossed by stories of murder.

This accessible and engaging text provides a fascinating exploration of murder, offering an insight into what leads people to kill and what effect this has on society as a whole. It analyses the concept of murder and looks at explanations of murder in terms of motive, madness, ‘badness’, faulty individuals (i.e. biological and psychological features), and faulty society (i.e. social structure). Many fascinating and useful case studies from around the world are included.

Murder and Society will be a valuable resource for practitioners and students in the areas of psychology, criminology, sociology and mental health.