Criminology

[baldy]

Hi, I am only a teenager but I have already become fascinated byt eh subject of criminology. I know it is not just a phase as it has progressed from the interest of pschology. However, many people proabably cannot underatnd my fascination but I would like to apply to interview a murderer as a project for entering university. I am not a madman or a goth but I am totally amazed and intriged to see what makes them do what they do etc. A reply would be greatly aprreciated. Thanks!

[homer]

Your most sensible option would be to approach the Home Office directly, or HM Prisons, and both of these can be found on the web. However, unless you had written confirmation from a school or tutor that this would be part of an official project, it is extremely unlikely that you would be given such access. They would need considerably persuasion that this was a formal study and not something to satisfy personal curiousity, and even then, your chances are not particularly high. Perhaps you should start by looking through existing interviews - or wading through the book In Cold Blood by Trueman Capote, which analyses the killers of a family in rural Kansas. It goes through the effects caused by environment in childhood, how a person of any of locale can be a victim of hostility, and the influence bringing contrasting personalities together. But be warned, critically acclaimed though it is, it is not pleasant reading.

[mikewith]

Another book in a similar vein: The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer - a book examining how and why Gary Gilmore killed - and how and why he was then executed by the state. Like the Capote book, it's a hard read at times, but in this case mainly because Mailer gets so long-winded!

[Jens T]

Those are both good choices. I might also add Helter Skelter, about Charles Manson, by prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi. It isn't as literate as the other two books, but goes into Manson's psyche and how he became a manipulator of weak, vulnerable people. If you do get to go to a prison, be forewarned; it ain't pretty. I had to visit a high security prison one day for my job, and I came away with a lower overall impression of the human race.

[GeordieSteve]

Send an email to me at [email protected]. I have worked for a few people who have written books who ARE murderers. Hope this helps Stevie