Atlas of Forensic and Criminal Psychology

Bernat-N. Tiffon

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000552850
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Psychiatry & Mental Health

Originally published in Spanish in 2017 by Libreria Bosch, Barcelona, the Atlas of Forensic and Criminal Psychology is a one-of-kind book made available in English for the first time. This unique work is highly illustrated with full-color images, providing a medico-legal examination of forensic pathology as it relates to cases of forensic psychological interest.

The book begins with a historical perspective and includes images of patients to familiarize the reader with symptoms, the hazard-risk criteria, lethality, and suicidal rescue—research that Dr. Tiffon has addressed in his previous publications. Chapters present photographic records of cases to deepen forensic, psychologist, and medico-legal professionals' insight into thoughts, behaviors, and mechanisms of self- and hetero-aggressiveness. Such cases illustrate the outcomes of various disorders manifested in individuals and victims; as such, they provide an understanding of the psychological-legal conclusions reached in such cases in order to adapt the legal and preventative measures for specific situations.

Coverage includes affective, schizophrenic, and personality disorders as contributing elements in diagnostic judgments, noting the great difficulty such examples present to experts performing psychopathological evaluations after criminal, and often violent, events have occurred. Various psychopathological disorders are addressed as well as the technical treatment that should occur in each case from a psychological-forensic perspective.

Features:

• Presents a provocative look at various syndromes familiar to forensic psychologists, as applied to criminal cases and the pathology of suicide victims and homicide perpetrators

• Combines the work of world-renowned expert contributors to examine the criminal, legal, and psychological facets of various diagnoses and case examples

• Offers insight into the psychological state of suicide victims, considering their state of mind as a "psychological autopsy"

In his previous books published in Spanish, Manual of Consulting in Psychology and Clinical, Legal, Legal, Criminal, and Forensic Psychopathology (2008), Manual of Professional Performance in Clinical, Criminal, and Forensic Psychopathology (2009), and the 4-volume Practical Criminological Atlas of Forensic Psychometry (2019-2020), Tiffon approached forensic psychology and psychopathology from a theoretical perspective. In the Atlas of Forensic and Criminal Psychology, his first book translated into English, Tiffon expands on these prior works, serving to provide a visual reference and guide to medical pathologists and consulting psychologists in cases of disorders in which psychopathological mutilation, injury, and self-injury occur.

CHAPTER 1An Introduction The Psychological Perspective—For the English Language Edition

John F.Fielder

DOI: 10.4324/9781003092223-1

Murder. Suicide. Murder and suicide. It is very easy to find multiple new examples of these three circumstances every week of the year by using these key words to search the Internet. For example, as I write this Introduction, a double homicide and suicide by a father and husband was reported in New York City. The mother’s head was decapitated and placed in her lap and the daughter’s head was nearly decapitated. The murderer father followed up by hanging himself from his daughter’s bedroom door. The couple was scheduled in court the same day only hours later to deal with an impending divorce and restraining order. Neighbors described the father as “[a] friendly and kind man who adored his wife and daughter.” One person was quoted as saying “[t]hey were just a normal, everyday family,” describing them as “lovely.” However, there was obviously something that was not quite right in this family and especially with the killer husband and father. It is incomprehensible to most everyone how a man would be capable of such atrocious acts and yet similar behavior happens every day all over the world. How can we understand this behavior? Does it stem from mental illness, or is it within the range of normal human behavior but has been criminalized in an attempt to control and prevent these behaviors and punish those responsible? Even in the realm of suicide, some religions have sought to prevent the act by informing followers of afterlife consequences.

Suicide and murder are the very topics that renowned Spanish forensic psychologist Tiffon addresses in this Atlas, which has been translated for an English-speaking professional audience who have much to learn from their Catalan colleague who lives and works in Barcelona. Tiffon examines these kinds of cases through the lens of a forensic psychologist’s microscope with the goal of constructing a foundation of objective evidence with which to understand the workings of the criminal mind and bring the value of that understanding to bear on forensic matters in the courts. In this important work, replete with numerous photos of the deceased, he also addresses the limits of our knowledge as experts and what we can legitimately testify to in homicide and suicide cases.

Tiffon has long been motivated to make comprehensible what is loathsome and incomprehensible to many human beings. He does so through our current understanding of various mental disorders and how they may be intertwined with the acts of suicide and homicide. One must keep in mind that these acts are complicated, as well as that some are impulsive while others well planned. The instruments of destruction are also myriad and vary from items at hand to others that have been set up in advance.

One significant forensic question is how the courts understand acts of violence against the self and others and the weight that they give to psychological evidence that might exculpate the aggressor or mitigate his or her responsibility for violent behavior or self-destruction. One of Tiffon’s objectives as a forensic psychologist is to be able to assist the courts in weighing and taking into consideration psychological factors that operated in suicides and homicides. Tiffon would be among the first to agree that the standards of evidence vary from locale to locale. In the U.S., the federal standard for admissibility of evidence was set by the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision in the 1993 case of Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was further refined in several subsequent cases and embodied in Federal Rules of Evidence 702. A majority of the states have also adopted the standard. Importantly, the Supreme Court gave judges the gatekeeper responsibility for applying the standard to expert testimony; however, the fact remains that most jurists do not have the knowledge base to apply the standard in any reliable way to cases involving psychological issues. As such, it remains the responsibility of the parties in legal actions to educate the court as to what is, or is not, scientific and reliable and therefore what should and should not be given weight by juries and judges in considering responsibility and verdicts. This duty ultimately falls upon informed attorneys working with their experts to exclude evidence that does not meet the Daubert standard. And this is not the only issue as Tiffon would agree.

As he navigates the world of suicides and homicides, Tiffon must also unenviably contend with the fact that the diagnostic systems of psychopathology such as the ICD10 and DSM-V are imperfect, not definitive, and ever-evolving, while being rife with imprecision and disagreement among practitioners. In addition, there has been an unfortunate tendency by both psychopathologists and the lay public to reify and over-apply diagnoses such as Bipolar and PTSD to a wider range of behavior than originally intended. To wit, mood swings are neither necessarily pathological nor a diagnostic of bipolar disorder; anyone who has observed people who are full blown manic or psychotically depressed will never forget the experience. These are the patients for whom the diagnoses were intended and not the day-to-day ups and downs of so many people. So, where does this leave us and Tiffon, who has taken on a gigantic task? Although he is from the land that gave us the concept of a Don Quixote, there is much more substance to his studies than being a tilter of windmills and he provides a foundation and direction for further understanding people who self-destruct and/or murder others of their species. With that in mind, I believe he provokes thoughtful discourse and direction for further investigation. This is one of those rare books that I read in one sitting and recommend to every forensic colleague.

Roseville, California (USA); January 2022.

CHAPTER 2Medicolegal Perspective A Prelude

JorgeGonzález Fernández

DOI: 10.4324/9781003092223-2

After a series of successful forays into fiction, Bernat-N. Tiffon is returning to non-fiction with his new book: Atlas of Forensic and Criminal Psychology.

Full of prose that is a joy to read, even for those without any expertise on the subject, we are offered a compendium of the main pathologies, accompanied by meticulous research and in-depth descriptions of the different disorders which, along with plenty of images, allow us to connect two branches of medical and legal knowledge: psychopathology and forensic pathology.

In his previous works, Reference Guide to Clinical, Legal, Judicial, Criminal and Forensic Psychopathology and Psychology (2008) and Manual for Expert Witnesses in Clinical, Criminal and Forensic Psychopathology (2009), Tiffon used a theoretical perspective, with plenty of images, to address the main issues surrounding the practice of forensic psychology. In his new book—a real Atlas—he has created a visual guide that uses abundant photos and illustrations to examine the main psychopathological disturbances that an expert witness on the subject could be confronted with during their day-to-day work.

This compendium starts off with a comprehensive historical introduction, using excerpts taken from the author’s enviable private library. As was typical in the literature of the early twentieth century, it includes images of patients which the reader can use to familiarize themselves with the different symptoms.

Particular importance is given to the criteria of the risk of danger, lethality and “rescuability”: findings that Tiffon has already mentioned in previous publications which give us a better understanding of the thoughts, behaviors and mechanisms of outwards aggression and self-aggression. The author uses these to explore the various disorders shown through forensic cases and numerous images, which help us to understand exactly how psychological and legal conclusions are reached in order to adapt the legal and preventative measures that correspond to specific situations.

In this way, Tiffon examines mood disorders, schizophrenic disorders, personality disorders and various others, providing information to be used when making judgments. He emphasizes that it can be incredibly difficult for expert witnesses to conduct psychopathological evaluations in retrospect.

All the clinical and legal information on each case, with the relevant data and images, are provided by way of summary tables. These allow the reader to quickly gain insight into the different psychopathological disorders discussed and the technical treatment that should be given in each case, from the perspective of forensic psychology.

On balance, this book is informative and pleasant to read, not just for those working as expert witnesses but also for those working in the field of law who deliver justice: judges, prosecutors, court clerks, lawyers and many more. Providing a perfect combination of theory and practice, the Atlas of Forensic and Criminal Psychology serves as an indispensable book.

Logroño (Spain), January 2022.

CHAPTER 3The Psychiatric Perspective A Prelude

JosepSolé Puig

DOI: 10.4324/9781003092223-3

More than twenty years after Font Riera’s Atlas of Legal and Forensic Medicine was published, the disciplines of forensic psychology and psychiatry in Spain are lucky enough to have been given what is arguably the best possible update to Riera’s Atlas: the one you are now holding in your hands by Bernat-N. Tiffon.

Tiffon’s book is far more than just an update. The author has chosen the most exemplifying cases from Riera’s aforementioned Atlas and added his own case studies, collected over the many years he has been a renowned professional and leader in the fields of forensics and psychology in Spain. We should say from the outset that the illustrative result of his work is exceptional, and, as is to be expected with the subject matter of this book, also shocking. No matter how seasoned experts are in witnessing crime scenes, it is not humanly possible for us to completely shield ourselves from images like those shown in this Atlas. We can try, of course, and often we may succeed. But not completely, and understandably so. Psychologists and doctors practice from a place of empathy: we put ourselves in our patients’ shoes. This is the only way can we help people—by looking at the intricacies of human nature. And those intricacies, as we already know, may potentially involve the killing of another person (or persons), or the killing of oneself.

Volumes have been written on the too-often lethal nature of aggression on and by human beings. Killing someone or killing oneself is within the reach of almost everyone. This reality is omnipresent and is undoubtedly a serious concern felt by all of society.

Since psychiatry came into existence, mental health pro...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• Contributing Authors
• 1 An Introduction: The Psychological Perspective—For the English Language Edition
• 2 Medicolegal Perspective: A Prelude
• 3 The Psychiatric Perspective: A Prelude
• 4 Legal Overview: Circumstances That Affect Criminal Liability
• 5 Author’s Justification
• 6 Mood (Affective) Disorders
• 7 Schizophrenic Disorders
• 8 Borderline Personality Disorder
• 9 Case Study without Mitigating Circumstances of Criminal Responsibility Due to Psychological Cause
• 10 Intentionality vs. Mental Disorder
• 11 Cocaine Consumption
• 12 Final Conclusion
• 13 A Forensic Psychology Summary
• 14 Overview from a Legal, Criminological and Psychological Perspective
• 15 Epilogue
• Bibliography
• Index