A compassionate yet shattering exploration of the dark world of parricide. Attorney Paul Mones comes to the defense of abused children who kill their parents in this gripping, soul-wrenching, and detailed look at who these children are and why they kill. "Disturbing . . . but highly recommended".--ALA Booklist.

Jonathan Paul goes behind the sensationalist headlines of 'child killers' to investigate why these crimes happen. He examines child homicide in today's violent, confusing world and contextualises it against the cruel unforgiving retribution of yesterday. Children are increasingly experimenting with drugs and committing offences, but there are those who commit the worst possible crimes: to end another person's life before their own could properly have begun. The cases are shocking but sometimes the path towards them is even more so. This is a fascinating exploration of disturbing events aimed at discovering what happens when childhood is trodden underfoot, and when and why kids kill.

Why would two young boys abduct, torture and kill a toddler? What makes a teenage girl plot with her classmates to kill her own father? Society regards children as harmless - but for some the age of innocence is shortlived, messy and ultimately murderous.Mary Bell, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables are infamous for their crimes against other children, but many of the less familiar studies here are equally as shocking. Thirteen murderers - the youngest only ten - used fire, poison, bullets and strangulation on victims from infants to pensioners. In a comprehensive study of juvenile homicide, Carol Anne Davis offers new psychological insights and a hard-hitting look at the role of society in an area too shocking to ignore.

"Despite the presence of dead bodies, and although it was unpleasant when the protagonist starts moving around the dead bodies (changing their clothes, putting them to bed, etc.) it wasn't gory or gratuitous. The main point is his bizarre emotional bender after finding the bodies of his wife and two children, and many vignettes from their personal histories are revealed in flashbacks."--Goodreads.

Completely revised and updated, a much-needed call to action for every parent, teacher, and citizen to help our children and stop the wave of killing and violence gripping America's youth Newtown, Aurora, Virginia Tech, Columbine. Thereis no bigger or more important issue in America than youth violence. Kids, some as young as ten years old, take up arms with the intention to murder. Why is this happening? Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano believe the root cause is the steady diet of violent entertainment kids see on TV, in movies, and in the video games they play—witnessing hundreds of violent images a day. Offering incontrovertible evidence based on recent scientific studies and research, they posit that this media is not just conditioning children to be violent and see killing as acceptable but teaching them the mechanics of killing as well. Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill supplies the statistics, interprets the copious research that exists on the subject, and suggests the many ways to make a difference in your home, at school, in your community, in the courts, and in the larger world. In using this book, parents, educators, social-service workers, youth advocates, and anyone interested in the welfare of our children will have a solid foundation for effective action and prevention of future Columbines, Jonesboros, and Newtowns.

Children bereaved by the death of one parent at the hands of the other, almost always the father, in effect lose both parents, and are often forgotten in the midst of such dramatic situations. Reflecting the increased interest in child protection and child law systems, this second edition of When Father Kills Mother brings to public knowledge, in amplified form information about the effects of psychological trauma and bereavement on children. By combining knowledge about bereavement with that of post-traumatic stress disorder, the book remains informative and essential reading for all those involved in the field, both professionally and personally.

An inside look into patterns and potential prevention plans for one of the most hotly sensationalized crimes A special kind of horror is reserved for mothers who kill their children. Cases such as those of Susan Smith, who drowned her two young sons by driving her car into a lake, and Melissa Drexler, who disposed of her newborn baby in a restroom at her prom, become media sensations. Unfortunately, in addition to these high-profile cases, hundreds of mothers kill their children in the United States each year. The question most often asked is, why? What would drive a mother to kill her own child? Those who work with such cases, whether in clinical psychology, social services, law enforcement or academia, often lack basic understandings about the types of circumstances and patterns which might lead to these tragic deaths, and the social constructions of motherhood which may affect women's actions. These mothers oftentimes defy the myths and media exploitation of them as evil, insane, or lacking moral principles, and they are not a homogenous group. In obvious ways, intervention strategies should differ for a teenager who denies her pregnancy and then kills her newborn and a mother who kills her two toddlers out of mental illness or to further a relationship. A typology is needed to help us to understand the different cases that commonly occur and the patterns they follow in order to make possible more effective prevention plans. Mothers Who Kill Their Children draws on extensive research to identify clear patterns among the cases of women who kill their children, shedding light on why some women commit these acts. The characteristics the authors establish will be helpful in creating more meaningful policies, more targeted intervention strategies, and more knowledgeable evaluations of these cases when they arise.