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Biomedical subjects

P E Dietz

Publications and source records attributed to P E Dietz.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

The quest for excellence in forensic psychiatry.

Excellence in forensic psychiatry requires adopting an appropriate professional role; developing an uncommon depth of knowledge and experience; full disclosure of credentials, biases, and weaknesses to potential clients; wise choices about which assignments to accept; and scrupulous fairness in the presentation of findings and opinions. An elusive goal in the best of circumstances, the quest for excellence can appear even more quixotic as resources diminish. As forensic psychiatry faces cost controls from insurance companies, increased competition from psychiatrists who have lost clinical opportunities, and the prospect of tort reform, the pressure to employ more efficient methods and to do more superficial work increases, threatening the quality of forensic work. The many influences, distractions, temptations, and hazards in the path toward excellence can be largely overcome by men and women of integrity, but there are inflexible barriers in the path of those who take assignments for which they are unsuited, for which the data will not be made accessible, or for which too little time is available to prepare properly. Often the most consequential decision one makes in a case is the decision to accept the case.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1996

The sexually sadistic serial killer.

This article explores characteristics and crime scene behavior of 20 sexually sadistic serial murderers. The pairing of character pathology with paraphilic arousal to the control and degradation of others is examined as it manifests itself in their murders. Commonalities across murders and across murderers are highlighted, i.e., the execution of murders that are well-planned, the use of preselected locations, captivity, a variety of painful sexual acts, sexual bondage, intentional torture, and death by means of strangulation and stabbing.

Crime Victims↗
PubMed1993

Autoerotic fatalities with power hydraulics.

We report two cases in which men used the hydraulic shovels on tractors to suspend themselves for masochistic sexual stimulation. One man developed a romantic attachment to a tractor, even giving it a name and writing poetry in its honor. He died accidentally while intentionally asphyxiating himself through suspension by the neck, leaving clues that he enjoyed perceptual distortions during asphyxiation. The other man engaged in sexual bondage and transvestic fetishism, but did not purposely asphyxiate himself. He died when accidentally pinned to the ground under a shovel after intentionally suspending himself by the ankles. We compare these cases with other autoerotic fatalities involving perceptual distortion, cross-dressing, machinery, and postural asphyxiation by chest compression.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Mentally disordered offenders who push or attempt to push victims onto subway tracks in New York City.

Violent offenders who pushed or attempted to push victims onto the subway tracks in New York City during the 17-year period from 1975 through 1991 were studied. Forty-nine incidents involving 52 victims were identified during this period. Of 36 perpetrators who acted alone, 25 (69%) were referred for psychiatric evaluation and treatment, as was one member of an offending gang. Data concerning 20 of these 26 offenders and their crimes were collected. At the time of the offense, 19 (95%) of these offenders were psychotic, and 13 (65%) were homeless. Most of these offenders had extensive histories of psychiatric hospitalization and several prior arrests and convictions, often for violent crimes. The offenders had extensive mental health and criminal histories. The victims of these crimes were always strangers. Half of the offenders killed or seriously injured victims. Since 1986, the incidence of this offense has increased, and offenders accounting for the increase are mostly psychotic and homeless.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Mentally disordered offenders. Patterns in the relationship between mental disorder and crime.

Five patterns among mentally disordered offenders are distinguished by the relationship between mental disorder, on the one hand, and criminality, on the other. Pattern 1 offenders are those for whom crime is a response to psychotic symptoms, most often delusions or hallucinations. Pattern 2 offenders commit crimes motivated by compulsive desires, such as sex offenses by paraphiles and offenses regarded as evidence of disorders of impulse control. Pattern 3 offenders are those with personality disorder for whom the crime is merely one example of a maladaptive pattern of voluntary and knowing behavior. Pattern 4 offenders have coincidental mental illness that is unrelated to the crime. Pattern 5 offenders are those who become mentally disordered or feign mental disorder as a result of their crimes, such as those who dissociate upon seeing what they have done, those who become depressed in prison, those who become psychotic on death row, and those who malinger mental illness. Although these categories do not determine whether offenders are responsible for their behavior, some unknown proportion of Pattern 1 offenders do meet legal criteria for insanity, depending on the facts of each case and the applicable legal standards. It is arguable whether or not Pattern 2 offenders ever meet legal criteria of insanity. Offenders evidencing only Patterns 3, 4, or 5 are not candidates for an insanity defense.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Threatening and otherwise inappropriate letters to members of the United States Congress.

The authors examine the characteristics of threatening and otherwise inappropriate communications sent to members of the U.S. Congress by a sample of 86 subjects, 20 of whom threatened assassination. We quote excerpts from these letters and provide quantitative data on such variables as the volume, duration, form, and appearance of such communications; the enclosures; the subjects' perceived relationships to the recipients; the thematic content of the communications; and the messages and threats communicated. Comparisons between 43 subjects who pursued encounters with members of Congress and 43 who did not revealed 17 factors associated with such pursuit. In this population, threateners were significantly less likely to pursue an encounter than inappropriate letter writers who did not threaten, regardless of the type of threat or the harm threatened. Inappropriate letters to members of Congress are compared with those directed to Hollywood celebrities. Mentally disordered persons writing to public figures often mention and sometimes threaten public figures other than those to whom the letters are addressed, which raises important issues regarding notification of endangered third parties and the sharing of information among protective agencies.

Correspondence as Topic↗
PubMed1991

Criminal offense, psychiatric diagnosis, and psycholegal opinion: an analysis of 894 pretrial referrals.

This article presents the results of a study of 894 criminal defendants referred by Virginia courts for evaluation of competency to stand trial or criminal responsibility. All evaluations were conducted on an outpatient basis by mental health professionals who had received specialized training in forensic evaluation. Findings as to the referral questions posed, the criminal offenses charged, and the clinical diagnoses and psycholegal opinions offered by the evaluators are described. Statistical analyses demonstrate significant relationships between both diagnosis and criminal charge and the psycholegal opinion rendered.

Crime↗
PubMed1990

The sexually sadistic criminal and his offenses.

This is an uncontrolled, descriptive study of 30 sexually sadistic criminals. All were men, and all intentionally tortured their victims in order to arouse themselves. Their crimes often involved careful planning, the selection of strangers as victims, approaching the victim under a pretext, participation of a partner, beating victims, restraining victims and holding them captive, sexual bondage, anal rape, forced fellatio, vaginal rape, foreign object penetration, telling victims to speak particular words in a degrading manner, murder or serial killings (most often by strangulation), concealing victims' corpses, recording offenses, and keeping personal items belonging to victims.

Criminal Psychology↗
PubMed1988

Dangerous information: product tampering and poisoning advice in revenge and murder manuals.

This paper reviews 18 publications that advocate the use of product tampering and other poisoning methods as techniques for exacting revenge against individuals and corporations, as methods of committing murder, and for other criminal purposes. Several of the particular techniques recommended in these publications subsequently have been used in criminal tampering incidents. The published sources of technical guidance for the would-be tamperer and poisoner are examined in detail to alert forensic scientists, law enforcement authorities, and the food and drug industry to the particular techniques that are being advocated. Possible criminal and civil liability of the publishers and authors is discussed. The author suggests that food and drug retailers consider the wisdom of selling magazines that advertise the availability of revenge and murder manuals advocating product tampering and poisoning, that food and drug manufacturers test the effects on their products of the contaminants that are being recommended, and that investigators be alert to the existence of such manuals and mail-order suppliers of poisons.

Crime↗
PubMed1987

Murder at work.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Homicide↗
PubMed1987

The forensic psychiatrist of the future.

The rate of change in scientific knowledge and the growing psychiatric sophistication of attorneys and courts have made it increasingly difficult for forensic psychiatrists to retain proficiency in the full spectrum of potential professional activities. As the consumers of forensic services become more sophisticated, forensic psychiatrists have an increasing need to become scientifically informed and a decreasing need to become legally informed. Traditional training in forensic psychiatry, which emphasizes clinical, legal, and institutional knowledge and experience, gives short shift to behavioral science and other technical knowledge that can enhance the validity of forensic assessments and their value to the legal system and society. Forensic psychiatrists can best respond to these changes and maximize the value of their assessments by narrowing their focus to some subset of the four branches of the discipline: criminal behavior, mental disability, forensic child psychiatry, and legal aspects of psychiatric practice. Maximal proficiency in each of these four branches requires a greater depth of knowledge and experience than was once sufficient among those who practiced in all four areas. Fellowship training programs and professional organizations should lead forensic psychiatry into the twenty-first century by organizing their efforts along these four parallel tracks.

Child Psychiatry↗
PubMed1986

Detective magazines: pornography for the sexual sadist?

The origins of detective magazines can be traced to 17th and 18th century crime pamphlets and to 19th century periodicals that Lombroso called "really criminal newspapers." Content analysis of current detective magazines shows that their covers juxtapose erotic images with images of violence, bondage, and domination; that their articles provide lurid descriptions of murder, rape, and torture; and that they publish advertisements for weapons, burglary and car theft tools, false identification, and sexual aids. Six case histories of sexual sadists illustrate the use of these magazines as a source of fantasy material. We postulate that detective magazines may contribute to the development of sexual sadism, facilitate sadistic fantasies, and serve as training manuals and equipment catalogs for criminals. We recommend that detective magazines be considered during policy debates about media violence and pornography.

Adult↗