On April 16, 2007, Cho Seung-Hui, a student at Virginia Tech with a history of mental illness, became the perpetrator of the most infamous school shooting in the history of the United States. In the aftermath of the killings and Cho's subsequent suicide, one primary question emerged: Why? Suicidal Mass Murderers: A Criminological Study of Why They Kill explores the answer to this and related questions.
Detailing Cho's descent into madness that culminated in this tragic event, the book asks how we can:
- Identify and red flag the potentially dangerous
- Intervene early in their lives to prevent violence
- Mitigate potential damage
- Sequester, even involuntarily, the violent mentally ill
- Treat the dangerously mentally ill to being them back into meaningful lives
- Do all of this while protecting the patient's constitutional rights
Exploring the concept of whether such violent acts can be predicted, the book reveals the potential warning signs to look for in suspect individuals. First responders, public health authorities, and clinicians must learn to detect these early indicators if there is any hope in preventing a catastrophe such as what occurred at Virginia Tech from ever happening again.
John Liebert maintains a website with additional information. In 2013, he received the Perciball Pott Virtuous Surgeon Award from McGill University Faculty of Medicine.
About the Author: John Liebert, M.D., is a Diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and is in the private practice of neuropsychiatry, with special interests in both psychopharmacology and forensic problems of children, adults, and the elderly. His career has been focused on the association of trauma and human destructiveness, about which he has extensively lectured and written. He served as special forensic psychiatry consultant to the Ted Bundy, Green River, Atlanta Child Murders, and Charmer cases.
William J. Birnes, J.D., Ph.D. is a New York Times bestselling author. With Robert D. Keppel, he co-authored the CRC Press book Serial Violence: Analysis of Modus Operandi and Signature Characteristics of Killers. He is currently the Chairman of Sunrise Community Counseling Center in Los Angeles.
