Type A, AB, B murderers: their relationship to the victims and to the criminal justice system.

Bad men do what good men dream, observed the sage, and psychiatrists are frequently called upon to explain why. Murder is the crime of crimes. The murderer particularly inspires the ultimate in feelings of repugnance, fear and fascination for violating man's most sacrosanct commandment thou shalt not kill. While the immediate circumstances of the murder may be unspeakably horrible, the later examination of the murderer is another matter. No blood-dripping monster, the murderer is frequently a quiet, reasonably cooperative, decent-appearing human being, uncomfortably like us. Add to this that "good men's" consciences are regularly perturbed by murderous phantasies and dreams, and the objective study of the murderer, his victim and the interaction of the murderer with the criminal justice system becomes very difficult. Theodore Reik has put the matter squarely: "If wishes were horses, they would pull the hearses of our dearest friends and nearest relatives. All men are murderers at heart." Although the psychiatrist is not free from these perturbations, his professional training and access to individuals who commit murder present a unique opportunity for clinical study, with the eventual aim of treatment and prevention of this most destructive form of aggression. As a psychiatrist with the Forensic Psychiatric Division of the Department of Human Resources, Washington, D.C., I have had the opportunity to perform psychiatric evaluations of 30 murderers from July 1, 1974 to December 1, 1976. It was not possible for me to examine all murderers referred to the Forensic Psychiatric Division because of the number of referrals and the occasional requests for forthwith examination. Therefore, the murderers in this study are not totally representative of the population served, and no statistical analysis is attempted. All murderers except one female examined were black and from low socioeconomic levels.