Dr. Lettieri can be seen as an expert witness in the true-crime documentary series, A Plan to Kill. He provides insight into the psychological complexities and personalities of premeditated murders. The series of ten episodes is available for viewing on the Peacock and Oxygen networks.
Several years ago, I wrote a blog about the complex economic, cultural, and social factors that usually come together to create a perfect storm, with hate crimes as an emerging consequence. I focused on the unintended effects of rapid technological development over the past fifty years, which boosted economic productivity but also led to job…
The true crime ecosystem had been wildly speculative-one might even say deranged -in its attempt to understand the motivation behind Bryan Kohberger’s killing of four University of Idaho students in 2023. Although the defendant has recently admitted to the massacre and has been sentenced, he has never revealed his motivations. As the saying goes, nature…
The indictment against Luigi Mangione claims him to be a cold-blooded murderer of a helpless victim named Brian Thompson, in the early morning of December 04, 2024, as Mr. Thompson was about to enter a midtown Manhattan Hotel. Mr. Mangione allegedly approached the healthcare executive with a homemade 9mm Glock19, shot and killed the victim.…
Walter White, the central protagonist of the wildly popular TV series Breaking Bad has been described as a cross between “Mr. Chips and Scarface.” Walter is an aging, mild-mannered and dedicated high school chemistry teacher who is bowed and bent from the strain of chronic medical and financial problems. On the verse of collapsing inward,…
Chandler Bing of the TV show “Friends” was known by viewers as a jokester—it was his most funny and endearing quality. How ironic that, beyond the glare of the camera, he was a tortured soul who ingested alcohol and drugs to sustain his psychic equanimity. In his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,…
In my last blog I explored the complexity of cruelty and the social conditions that can lead to violence on a grand scale. Using the Nazi regime as an exemplar, I identified the dire economic and social conditions in Germany after World War I that made many of the populace vulnerable to Nazi ideology. A…
Acts of inhumanity and forbidding calamities are in our face daily, in the newspapers we read and the social media we consume. . A woman, glancing at her cell phone on a subway platform, is pushed onto the rails and flattened to death for no apparent reason. The assailant calmly walked away. A Good…
The Los Angeles Times newspaper report was horrific. In an eruption of primordial rage, 34-year old Raphael wielded a sharp-edged, bowed samurai sword to exact his rage on Karina for rejecting him. On a sunny California afternoon, in broad daylight, Rafael savagely slashed and bludgeoned Karina to death with such frenetic viciousness that he almost…
On October 27, 2023 in the city of Linden, Maine, a gunman walked into the Simmerhorn Bar and Grill and began shooting at the recreating patrons. He exited the lounge turned killing field and, in a refrain of his murderous behavior, inflicted a second carnage at a local bowling alley. By the end of that…
In my last blog, I highlighted the problems associated with premature in-person date with an online contact. I highlighted the importance of having spent a liberal amount of time getting to know the virtual persona to develop a sense of the person and personality that lay behind a two-dimensional mien. I identified the personality characteristics…
John was charged with assaulting Vanessa during their in-person rendezvous. First, they met online, then texted briefly before speaking on the phone, after which John suggested an in-person get together. He offered to make Vanessa dinner at his apartment. Though he had been a “perfect gentleman,” she felt more comfortable if their first “live” rendezvous…
I was asked by a criminal attorney to conduct a neuropsychological evaluation on his client Matthew, a 29-year-old drug dealer who murdered his partner after finding out that the victim was skimming from net profits. Matthew’s history of crime ran deep and wide, with a string of charges beginning in mid-adolescence that included assault, criminal…
The numbers tell the story. Researchers found that in 2015 and 2016, hate crime rates increased by around 13%, as the overall crime rate dipped by 2.7%. Recently, the FBI reported that in 16 of the nation’s biggest cities, hate crimes jumped a cumulative 44% from 2020 to 2021. And these numbers underrepresent the problem,…
Andy recalled his childhood as one filled with fear and aloneness. His mother Elizabeth was a kind but phlegmatic woman with a broken soul. She relied on the bottle to soothe her sorrow and solitude. Andy’s father was a drug abuser and habitually in trouble with the law. Andy’s early memories included his father beating…
When 911 operators in Denver receive calls about citizens acting irrationally, mental health professionals together with paramedics are sent to investigate the incidents—not armed police officers. The city’s program is known as Support Team Assisted Response (STAR). At this stage, it’s only a pilot program, but the early results are promising, and could portend a…
Having completed his freshman year of college, Robert eagerly looked forward to a summer trip to Europe with his favorite uncle. Having returned home from college to an apartment where he lived with his mother and two sisters, he prepared for his flight to London. He and his uncle were on the phone putting the…
I was retained to examine Simon, a man in his 60s who strangled his wife to death. He was initially charged with first degree murder. I was asked by his attorney to evaluate Simon and opine as to whether manslaughter was a plea bargaining option. Murder is the act of killing someone with malice aforethought,…
Most people who embrace one or more of the conspiracy theories floating out there in the cultural stratosphere are sane, functional citizens. Recently, the National Butterfly Center in Texas had to temporarily close its doors because of death threats and physical confrontations to staff members by conspiracy theorists. This occurred after a blogger claimed the…
When first retained to evaluate Ray, his lawyer, Bill told me that his client was charged with rape and murder, but “there’s more charges coming.” Ray is suspected of having committed multiple rapes and murders. Describing his client as cooperative and soft spoken, he added, in a slightly foreboding tone, “Something’s wrong.” Indeed. The…
How do you know if a neighbor with a mental problem is dangerous, or if that strange distant relative who comes to visit is someone to worry about? Or how mad is that homeless man in the neighborhood? More fundamentally, how dangerous are the mentally ill in general? These are compelling questions that require basic…
Why would anyone admit to a crime if innocent? It betrays our basic instinct for self-preservation, not to mention basic common sense. The reasons are complex, involving characteristics of the false confessor and the tactics of police interrogation. Although counterintuitive, many of us are susceptible. Take Miguel, for example, an 18-year-old man I evaluated after…
What does it mean when we call someone a psychopath? Most people have heard the term bantered about, but what exactly is all the fuss and foreboding about when the specter of psychopathy rears its head? Though fetching and charismatic on the surface, the psychopathic individual narcissistic in style and without moral scruples. As such,…
At every turn there’s an HBO special Netflix series or new podcasts about murder, crime and the criminal mind. Witness the popularity of Making of a Murder a few years ago. And what about the Sopranos series or the decades long Law & Order franchises? This fascination is not new. Fifty years ago, some of…
In a survey released in 2016, 70% of Americans expressed a favorable attitude towards police. At the same time, almost half of Americans expressed the belief that “most” police officers think they are above the law. With the more recent tragedies involving police shooting, and the deaths of unarmed black citizens like George Floyd, many…
As I began my interview with Andrew, his bizarre thinking herniated forth. His speech rapid and tense, he shouted, “They’re forcing me to take them,” his antipsychotic medication. “It’s taken away the good voices. They tell me I’m going to heaven.” He then veered into the supernatural. He rambled about angels, sinfulness and angels informing…
The insanity defense as a legal concept was born in England, in 1843. A man named Daniel M’Naghten attempted to assassinate the British Prime Minister who he believed was conspiring against him. Due to his psychosis, the court acquitted him and thus established the Mr. M’Naghten Rule. It requires that a defendant is to be…
After less than two days of deliberation following Janice’s insanity trial, she was found guilty of first degree murder, meaning that Janice intentionally killed her eleven month old daughter Kimberly. Thus, the jurors reached the conclusion that Janice was sane, even after two experts, myself and the prosecution’s own expert, opined that she was insane.…
Jody and Donna were his first two victims. As they sat in Jody’s car in front of Donna’s house on a warm and muggy late summer evening in the Bronx, probably sharing stories of romance, David Berkowitz walked up with a .44 caliber Bulldog revolver and prematurely ended Jody’s life and critically wounded Donna. During…
Childhood is a nostalgic time for people. We often idealize what life was like before the obligations of adulthood, but the reality is that everyone goes through painful experiences. Whether it involves physical, psychological, or emotional pain, children aren’t 100% shielded from life’s hardships. Painful events can be caused by adults in the home, school,…
Some people are born with disabilities, while others become disabled because of traumatic accidents, medical conditions, or other life events. Neuropsychologists and neuroscientists have methods they use to check up on and diagnose people. Along with medical reasons, there are legal reasons why someone might need an evaluation for a disability. Conditions such as stroke,…
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one study shows that up to 77% of juvenile offenders have used drugs in some capacity within 6 months prior to arrest. And I stses where marijuana have been legalized, it’s almost certain that the use of the drug has increased. For these reasons , the NIH…
People unfamiliar with the criminal justice system often use the terms “misdemeanor” and “felony” interchangeably. While both words denote that a crime or infraction may have been committed in the past, they’re not equally severe and aren’t subject to the same types of legal consequences. These words are used to put certain acts into a…
Concussions can be caused by sudden falls, violent shaking, or a blow to the head. They can cause a blood clot to form on the brain after the injury, hence the need to be vigilant of children and teens who enjoy contact sports or games. In some cases, they can cause a person to black…
When COVID19 upended our lives, everyone was told to wash their hands with soap and water, use a mask, and practice social distancing. While that has been a huge help to regular citizens with ready access to these resources, this advice is hard to apply in some circumstances. People in poverty, experiencing homelessness, or in…
If you like watching true crime films and TV, you’ve probably heard this phrase at one point, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” There’s slightly more to this, but essentially this is the Miranda warning. The U.S. Constitution guarantees…
Several years ago, Netflix’s When They See Us made us revisit the case of the Exonerated Five, better known as the Central Park Five. We learned as five young Black men confessed to crimes they didn’t commit and even served six to 12 years of jail time despite their innocence. So why do people confess…
Prior to the 1950s, the study of crime in the United States traditionally focused on male behavior. Due to their limited roles in American society, women were not viewed as part of the equation and were therefore overlooked. The roles of women in society at that time were mostly confined to those defined by limited…
What is a “Psychopath”? Most people have heard the term, but many aren’t sure exactly what it means. On television, the term “psychopath” is frequently used interchangeably with terms like “psycho” and “psychotic,” but those terms don’t mean the same thing. A psychopath is an individual who exhibits a higher level of psychopathic traits than…
ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. ADHD is a disorder that is frequently diagnosed during childhood although it often continues into adulthood. ADHD’s hallmark features include difficult paying attention, sustaining focus, and controlling impulsive behaviors. Individuals can also be hyperactive which means they display excessive amounts of physical activity. These symptoms make it difficult…
In order to participate in criminal proceedings, a defendant must have a rational and factual appreciation of the legal proceedings against them. If it appears that a defendant lacks sufficient understanding of the above, the judge, defense attorney, or prosecutor can “raise the issue of competency” (i.e., question whether the defendant meets the required legal…
Manslaughter and Murder. Both are forms of homicide. However, they are not the same. Both are distinct crimes with differing degrees and types. Each are considered “unlawful” (e.g., as opposed to killing someone in defense of oneself), yet they lead to different ranges of consequences. Manslaughter According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Manslaughter is, “The unlawful…
Each time we have a mass shooting in the United States, a predictable conversation emerges. Like clockwork, media outlets immediately question the “cause” of the incident and speculate on the factors that may have led up to the latest mass shooting tragedy. Inevitably, the mental health history of the perpetrator is questioned: Was he mentally…
There are over 600,000 homeless people in the United States. Approximately 138,000 of those individuals are children. Although most people in the U.S. have never been homeless, many people have countless theories about the causes of homelessness, as well as the homeless themselves. One popular theory about the homeless is that many are mentally ill…
The DSM-5 is the go-to source for understanding, classifying, and explaining a variety of mental health disorders. It has been described by some as sort of a “bible” for mental health professionals, as they heavily rely on it when diagnosing individuals with a mental illness. But what exactly is it? In fact, it’s not a…
The problem of juvenile crime has plagued American society for decades. State legislatures, prosecutors, and other officials have taken a wide variety of approaches when dealing with youthful offenders. In many cases, minors are tried in the juvenile justice system, but there are some situations in which the seriousness of the crimes may need to…
Most people have probably heard of the insanity defense, in which a person who has committed a crime pleads “not guilty by reason of insanity” and claims that a mental illness caused them to act illegally. This might seem like an easy way to get out of being held responsible for breaking the law, especially…
Is criminal behavior the result of one’s genetic makeup – the “Bad Seed” idea– or due to environmental influences like early child abuse, neglect or poverty? What’s most influential, your biology or life circumstance? How much of our individuality is due to genetic or environmental factors? Although you share both parents’ genes equally, you might…
It’s important that you understand what the above statistics mean, and what they do not mean. A 50% genetic risk does not mean that a single individual is at a 50% risk. It only means that of 100 people with that degree of genetic disposition, 50 of them will exhibit the trait. It’s never clear…
I received a phone call from a private defense attorney, Mr. Barr, asking me to interview his client, Eugene, who had recently been arrested for violating a restraining order that was filed by his girlfriend and for subsequently assaulting her. Mr. Barr said Eugene was mentally confused throughout their conversation. He mumbled to himself, with…
For the most part, the defendants I examine have been accused of committing bad acts, like taking a life. To be found blameworthy of a crime, a defendant’s behavior must be accompanied by a guilty state of mind. In legal lingo, it’s referred to as the mens rea portion of a crime: the malicious intent…
The justice system is a gumbo of complex laws and regulations born out of centuries-old English doctrines, statutes and case law decisions, all of which define the boundaries between legal and criminal behavior. Murder, for instance, is defined by the unlawful taking of another’s life. It’s not against the law to kill in self-defense. And,…
Freud called it the Id, that most elementary part of our make-up that is a cauldron of fiery impulses, innate urges and self-serving primal desires. Left unrestrained, it could lead to personal and social chaos. It’s a part of us that is usually regulated and controlled by our identifications with loved ones, early socialization, fear,…
Human beings, both men and women, are aggressive. The male gender is especially violent. Worldwide, 90% of all homicides are done by men. In the United States, the homicide rate is 5 per 100,000. In Canada, it’s 2 per 100,000 and Mexico it’s 19 per 100,000. Those statistics reveal that raw violence is not just…
Contrary to popular perceptions, aggression is not a learned behavior: It’s an inborn potential and must be tamed over time. A child’s early experience with adults who are nurturing and model respect for others, yet are capable of exercising discipline and set limits when necessary, will help that child to grow into an understanding adult,…
Two months after the birth of her first child, Lucy filled up the bathtub and submerged her nude baby under water until she died. She then cut her wrist, swallowed a bottle of her antidepressant medication and a handful of aspirins. Lying on the bathroom floor, she slowly lost consciousness. Returning home from work, her…
As I explained in an earlier blog (The Law’s View of Human Nature), the entire structure of criminal jurisprudence boils down to a few simple folk psychological questions: What were the defendant’s motivations, desires, and intentions at the time of the crime? If he were motivated to commit the crime, what was the measure of…
Ray is a 25-year-old transplant from Oregon, moved to southern California in search of sunshine and excitement. He ended up getting hospitalized for erratic behavior and diagnosed with a Bipolar Disorder. One night, after forgetting to take his Lithium, he’s at a bar having a drink and watching a football game on the big screen.…