Transcript of the story
	Healthy For Life Extra extra information about the story
	For More Information where to go for help

James Alan Fox, Ph.D.
"They see other people as mere tools for their own pleasure."

Stanton Samenow, Ph.D.
"To reduce someone to a quivering, pleading speck of humanity and snuff out that individual's life is, for some people, the ultimate high."

James Alan Fox, Ph.D.
"The most successful, prolific killers are extraordinarily ordinary."

WHO ARE THESE KILLERSAND WHY DO THEY KILL? CRIMINOLOGIST JAMES ALAN FOX HAS SPENT NEARLY A QUARTER CENTURY TRYING TO ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.

James Alan Fox, Ph.D.
Criminologist, Northeastern University
Boston, MA
"He feels like a victim. He feels like people have been unfair to him."

BUT HE'S FOUND EVEN COMMON TRAITS DON'T HELP EXPERTS PREDICT WHO'S A MURDERER.

James Alan Fox, Ph.D.
"It is literally impossible to identify the few needles in a large haystack of people who fit the profile of a serial killer or mass murderer."

Alexandria, VA
FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST STANTON SAMENOW (SAM-in-now) SAYS WARNING SIGNS MAY APPEAR AS EARLY AS PRE-SCHOOL.

Stanton Samenow, Ph.D.
Forensic Psychologist
Alexandria, VA
"This is the child who is restless, irritable, never, never satisfied, who is always getting into things. The getting into things is a person determined, absolutely determined, to have his way."

WITH TIME, THE NEED FOR CONTROL CAN INTENSIFY.

Stanton Samenow, Ph.D.
"Murder is, of course, is the ultimate form of control."

Somerville, MA
STEVE HASSAN SAYS IT WASN'T HIS OWN DESIRE FOR CONTROL BUT SOMEONE ELSE'S THAT NEARLY DROVE HIM TO KILL.

Steve Hassan
Cult Counselor
Somerville, MA
"In my case I was fortunate enough not to be given a gun and told to shoot someone because I probably would have."

STEVE SAYS HE SPENT THREE YEARS UNDER THE MIND CONTROL OF A CULT. IT'S THIS TYPE OF CONTROL HE BELIEVES IS BEHIND THE SEPTEMBER ELEVENTH ATTACKS.

Steve Hassan
"When I look at Taliban, Al Qaeda members and listen to their outrageous beliefs, I say, 'I know that level of insanity.'"

AS STEVE NOW WORKS TO HELP OTHERS ESCAPE DANGEROUS MIND CONTROL – SCIENTISTS WORK TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MIND.

Stanton Samenow, Ph.D.
"One can only decide what to do with such a person if you understand the day to day working of the mind."

PERHAPS ONLY THEN WILL THE VIOLENCE STOP.

DOCTOR SAMENOW STRESSES THE BEHAVIORS HE DESCRIBES IN A YOUNG CHILD THAT SHOULD BE RED FLAGS ARE EXTREME DEMANDS FOR CONTROL AND NOT THE TYPICAL FIVE-YEAR-OLD BEHAVIORS. IN PART TWO OF OUR SPECIAL REPORT, THE MIND OF A CRIMINAL, WE'LL SHOW YOU TOOLS SCIENTISTS ARE USING THAT MAY ONE DAY HELP IDENTIFY KILLERS EARLIER.

WHY KILL: "To reduce someone to a quivering, pleading speck of humanity and snuff out that individual's life is, for some people, the ultimate high," says Samenow. Experts seem to agree, criminal commit crimes for the thrill they get from the act. Most are aware of what they are doing at the time they are doing it and enjoy every minute of it. Fox says some collect items from the scene of the crime so they can re-live it in their mind. Others, says Fox, derive sexual pleasure from the act.

While killers may all have different motives, for most it comes down to "getting even" with someone that has done them wrong. This can be for political or personal reasons such as jealousy, revenge or profit. These people feel they have been "wronged" in some way and by killing they are getting even.

WARNING SIGNS: Samenow believes in some, the warning signs that someone may become a violent criminal are evident as early as pre-school. He says, "This is the child who is restless, irritable, never, never satisfied, who is always getting into things. This is the child who is absolutely determined to get his way." He stresses that this is the extreme case of children trying to get what they want and controlling the situation and not the typical child behavior. He says, when this progresses, it can lead to killing, as "killing is the ultimate form of control."

ANOTHER OPINION: According to Cult Counselor, Steven Hassan, for some, it is the mind control of a cult that can lead to killings. Hassan says he spent three years under the mind control of a cult. In this situation, people have given up their own personality and taken on one that is given to them by the cult leader. They do what they are told and, when told that killing someone is a positive, they believe it. He believes it is this sort of mind control that was behind the Sept. 11 attacks, especially in the case of John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban member.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information, please contact:
James Alan Fox, Ph.D.
College of Criminal Justice
Northeastern University
Boston, MA 02115
j.fox@neu.edu
http://www.jfox.neu.edu

Stanton Samenow, Ph.D.
Inside the Criminal Mind
4921 Seminary Rd.
Suite 104
Alexandria, VA 22311
(703) 931-0004
samenow@kreative.net
http://www.samenow.com

Steve Hassan
Freedom of Mind
Resource Center
(617) 628-9918
Fax (617) 628-8153



Copyright © 2002 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.