Listening to Killers: Lessons Learned from My Twenty Years as a Psychological Expert Witness in Murder Cases

308 Pages·3.444 MB·English

by  James Garbarino

Listening to Killers
lessons learned from my twenty years
as a psychological expert witness
in murder cases
James Garbarino
university of california press
Listening to Killers

Listening to Killers
lessons learned from my twenty years
as a psychological expert witness
in murder cases
James Garbarino
university of california press
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university
presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing
scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its
activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic
contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit
www.ucpress.edu.
University of California Press
Oakland, California
© 2015 by Th e Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garbarino, James, author.
Listening to killers : lessons learned from my twenty years as a
psychological expert witness in murder cases / James Garbarino.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-520-28286-5 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-28287-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-520-95874-6 (ebook)
1. Murderers—United States—Psychology. 2. Murder—United States—
Psychological aspects. 3. Trials (Murder)—United States. 4. Evidence,
Expert—United States. I. Title.
hv6529.G37 2015
3 310’651—.249d2 c3 2014032693
24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In keeping with a commitment to support environmentally responsible and
sustainable printing practices, UC Press has printed this book on Natures
Natural, a fi ber that contains 30% post-consumer waste and meets the
minimum requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r 1997) (Permanence of
Paper).
Cover photo: Mark Wragg/istockphoto.
To the public defenders and mitigation specialists who seek
to understand, protect, and, if possible, care for America’s
killers. And to the victims, who bear the brunt of America’s
failures to protect and nurture children and youth at risk in
their homes and their communities.

contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: Becoming an Expert Witness 1
part i
getting close to killers
1 • Th e Concept of Choice in the Criminal Justice System 19
2 • Keeping Killers inside Our Circle of Caring 45
3 • Moral Damage: Growing Up with a War Zone Mentality 82
4 • Emotional Damage: Th e Consequences of Unresolved Trauma 105
part ii
the american way of killing
5 • “If You’re Old Enough to Do the Crime,
You’re Old Enough to Do the Time” 147
6 • Tales of Rehabilitation, Transformation, and Redemption 178
7 • Guns Don’t Kill People—People with Guns Kill People 202
8 • Making Sense of the Senseless: Understanding
and Preventing Killing in America 226
Appendix: Zagar’s Model 261
References 263
Index 279