Murderers and Life Imprisonment : Containment, Treatment, Safety and Risk.

Cover -- CONTENTS -- Foreword -- Preface -- 1 The Scale and Nature of the Problem -- I. MURDER HOW OFTEN DOES IT HAPPEN? -- WHO ARE THE MURDERERS? -- HOMICIDE IN AMERICA -- 11. LIFE IMPRISONMENT IN THE UK -- NUMBERS AND PLACES -- PROFILE OF THE LIFER POPULATION -- 'MYRA SYNDROME' -- STRUCTURE OF A LIFE SENTENCE -- THE VICTIM'S CHARTER -- INDIVIDUAL CASES -- TWO STRIKES AND YOU'RE IN -- 2 The Psychology of the Murderer -- I. THEORIES OF VIOLENCE AND MURDER -- Biological determinants -- Socio-cultural determinants -- Psychological determinants -- Situational determinants of violence. -- Psychiatric determinants -- Political motivation -- 11. WHAT THE MURDERERS SAY -- SIX CASE STUDIES -- Ill. HOW TO KNOW AND HOW TO HELP -- STRATEGIES FOR HELPING MURDERERS AND OTHER LIFERS TO CHANGE -- THREE Delusions of Innocence -- I. LIFERS, INNOCENCE AND HM PRISON SERVICE: THE SCALE OF THE PROBLEM -- II. MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE CASES -- Ill. PRISON AND INNOCENCE: PROTESTS AND THE OFFICIAL SIDE -- IV. THE SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PROGRAMME AND THE PROBLEMS OF INNOCENCE -- V. 'FALSE NEGATIVES' -- 4 Containment and Treatment -- I. CONTAINMENT -- Physical controls -- Psychological controls -- Loss of control -- Lifers as a stabilising influence. -- II. STAFF COMPETENCIES: SKILLS REQUIRED TO WORK EFFECTIVELY WITH LIFERS -- Ill. TREATMENT -- How the Prison Service 'manages' lifers -- The Lifer Manual -- THE ROLE OF PROBATION -- PRISON SERVICE COURSES -- SOTP -- Cognitive Behavioural Programmes -- MENTALLY DISORDERED OFFENDERS -- HOW LIFERS (AND THE STAFF WHO WORK WITH THEM) MANAGE PRISON -- 5 Discretionary Lifer Panels -- I. INTRODUCTION -- THE DISCRETIONARY LIFE SENTENCE -- CHANGES IN CULTURE -- II. LEGAL BACKGROUND TO THE CHANGES -- Ill. THE CHANGES -- IV. HOW DLPs WORK -- V. 'SECTION 2 DISCRETIONARY LIFERS' -- VI. CONCLUSIONS -- 6 Lifer Risk Assessment.

I. WHAT IS RISK ASSESSMENT? (BRIEFLY) -- II. THE NEED FOR RISK ASSESSMENT -- Ill. HOW IS RISK ASSESSMENT DONE? -- IV. THE ASSESSMENT OF RISK IN LIFE SENTENCE PRISONERS AS PRACTISED IN ENGLAND AND WALES -- V. MAJOR CRITICISMS AND WAYS FORWARD -- IV. CONCLUSIONS -- 7 Beyond Criminal Justice -- I. THE ETHICS OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT -- II. DO LIFERS HAVE HUMAN RIGHTS? -- Ill. THE NATURE OF EVIL -- IV. NATURAL LIFE -- V. CONCLUSION -- 8 Proposals -- I. CONTAINMENT -- II. TREATMENT -- Ill. PUBLIC SAFETY -- Appendix A: Alex's Story. Secret Justice. An Extreme Illustration of Why Discretionary Lifer Panels Were Needed -- Appendix B The Parole Board Rules 1997 -- Appendix C: Comparisons Between the Mandatory and Discretionary Life Sentence Systems -- Bibliography -- Subject Index -- Back cover.

Who are the murderers and lifers? What should we do with them while they are in custody? What are the faults with the present lifer arrangements? An expert analysis by two people who have spent their professional lives dealing with such offenders.The authors write from personal knowledge of lifers and many years experience working closely with them within the prison system-making Murderers and Life Imprisonment not just a highly authoritative account but also one containing vivid, often compelling illustrations. There is a certain futility in some of the present arrangements and the authors do not shrink from making a number of suggestions for improvements under the headings containment, treatment, public safety and risk.The range of this major work is wide: from an examination of 'Who Are the Lifers?' (including a UK/USA comparison), lifer profiles, 'The Structure of a Life Sentence' and 'The Psychology of the Murderer', the book moves on to deal with 'Containment and Treatment', 'Discretionary Lifer Panels' and a range of ethical, Human Rights and associated issues. There are special contributions by David Wilson on 'Delusions of Innocence' and Roland Woodward on 'Lifer Risk Assessment' (including what it is, how it is done and a critical examination of clinical and other methods). The work is further enhanced by case studies (anonymised) based on actual case histories.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.