The Mask of Sanity
Mind of a Murderer is a BBC series which examines why people kill.
Looking at new research by neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists and biochemists, and with powerful testimony from murder witnesses and murderers themselves, the series reveals the latest thinking on the causes of violent behaviour and considers how murderers can best be treated and managed.
Trying to understand what happens in the mind of a murderer has traditionally been a question for psychologists and commentators on human behaviour. But now neurologists, biochemists and others are beginning to explore processes and changes in the brain itself that may explain why some people are more likely to kill than others, says executive producer, Harry Deans.
The research is new and sometimes controversial, but it is very important. As one of the scientists in the series says, its not guns that kill; its what happens in the brain of the person pulling the trigger”
The first programme explores the differences between psychopathic and psychotic killers.
