Crime and Killers

Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers: Why They Kill
By Katherine Ramsland

In 2004, Charles Cullen was arrested and charged in the deaths of more than 30 patients in his care. Crossing several jurisdictions in seven counties in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he was stopped after a fifteen-year spree at ten institutions. While many people do not think of healthcare workers as serial killers, their profession is disproportionately represented among the serial killer population, and they tend to be more prolific than other serial killers, having more opportunities, better cover, and easy alibis. Healthcare professionals who kill have learned how to exploit the atmosphere of trust in the healthcare community and to hasten deaths that may go unnoticed in an already vulnerable arena. This book delves into the world of the healthcare serial killer, looking at the special characteristics of the different groups of murderers, the motives, the methods, and the outcomes. Crime specialists have long suspected that many healthcare serial killers have gone undetected. Because it is easier to cover up their crimes, it is harder to uncover that a crime has even been committed. Here, Ramsland identifies some of the warning signs that a serial killer may be on the loose in a healthcare setting. Further, she offers suggestions for reform in the healthcare and criminal justice communities that would help identify potential killers before they have a chance to strike, or strike again. Using numerous real-life cases in every chapter, she provides a fuller picture of this most deadly type of serial killer and helps readers understand how they work, and how they can be stopped.



Review
“Inside the Minds of Healthcare Serial Killers is a timely and riveting book. Ramsland's detailed descriptions of the personalities and backgrounds of healthcare killers allow the reader to see common traits and behaviors. Ramsland distinguishes between euthanasia and murder, and she also distinguishes serial killers who chose random victims from those who killed with motives toward specific people, e.g. a family member or sexual partner. Finally, she has assembled useful recommendations that will allow healthcare administrators and law enforcement agents to successfully prevent and prosecute healthcare killers, as well as a list of red flags that should indicate reasonable grounds for suspicion.”–Beatrice Yorker, JD, RN, MS, FAAN Dean, College of Health and Human Services California State University, Los Angeles


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Beating the Devil's Game: A History of Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation


First time in paperback— essential reading for the millions of fans of CSI and Cold Case Files.

Katherine Ramsland, a renowned expert in criminology, traces the story of the evolution of forensic science––from thirteenth-century Chinese studies of decomposition through the flowering of science during the Renaissance and its veritable explosion during the era of Newtonian physics, to the marvels of the present day and beyond. Along the way, she introduces readers to such forensic pioneers as the father of toxicology; the criminalturned- detective who founded the Parisian Sureté; and trailblazers like William Bass whose integrated program in entomology, anthropology, and pathology at the Forensic Anthropology Center has galvanized the field.

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Noted forensic expert Ramsland (The Forensic Science of C.S.I.) disappoints with this plodding history of the evolution of forensic investigation. Tracing the earliest roots of what has become an invaluable component of criminal investigations and legal proceedings, Ramsland begins in ancient Greece, with Heraclitus' and Paramenides' philosophies of change and permanence as the governing forces of the world. Moving her way through the Industrial Revolution and Charles Dickens's apparent coining of the word detective, Ramsland laboriously documents case after case as investigators refine methods of fingerprinting, poison detection, ballistics and identification of potential repeat offenders. Ramsland concludes with a brief exploration of the future of forensic investigation, from sophisticated DNA analysis to the global role of forensics in the age of terrorism. Too little time is spent on some of history's most notorious cases (such as Lizzie Borden and Leopold and Loeb), with Ramsland instead offering numerous accounts of husbands poisoning their rich wives. Despite a subject so ripe for historical and sociological examination, Ramsland waters down her topic until the cases run together. Without any variation in her chronological narration, Ramsland will lose even the most dedicated of readers and C.S.I. fans. (Sept. 4)


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