Kids Who Kill [Mass Market Paperback]

Charles Patrick Ewing (Author)

Book Description

- Brenda Spencer, 17 years old, opened fire on a crowded elementary schoolyard with a semi-automatic rifle because "Mondays always get me down."

- Timothy Dwaine Brown, 16 years old, beat his brother to death before killing his grandparents in cold blood.

- Molested repeatedly by her father, 16-year-old Cheryl Pierson hired a classmate to execute him.

- Two Missouri brothers, ages four and six, attacked and brutally murdered a baby girl because "she was ugly."

There is a new breed of killers loose in America today -- and its numbers are growing at an astounding rate. They are responsible for over ten percent of the nation's homicides. They are often victims themselves of neglect, violence and sexual abuse, of drugs and poverty. They murder alone or in groups -- in anger and frustration, for attention . . . or for thrills. And they have one thing in common: they are all children.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- Ewing provides some answers for a society reeling from the reality of this particularly distressing form of violence. Using excellent examples of documented cases, he states clearly the underlying causes of most teenage murder and presents the information in a readable style. Students searching for facts and perspectives on drug use, poverty, family violence, and crime would find this book an excellent resource. With its many applications, it has a place in high school libraries as well as on teachers' resource lists.
- Nancy Craig, R . E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Charles Patrick Ewing, a clinical and forensic psychologist and attorney, is Professor of Law and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. After recieving a Ph.D. from Cornell University, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Yale University and recieved a J.D. from Harvard University. Dr. Ewing is the author of Crisis Intervention as Psychology (Oxford University Press, 1978) and Battered Women Who Kill: Psychological Self-Defense as Legal Justification (Lexington Books, 1987) and editor of Psychology, Psychiatry and the Law: A Clinical and Forensic Handbook (Professional Resource Exchange, 1985). He is also the author or co-author of numerous articles and chapters dealing with psychology and law, psychotherapy, professional ethics, and violent behavior, and serves as co-editor of the journal Behavioral Sciences and the Law. A Diplomate in Forensic Psychology, Dr. Ewing has examined many homicide defendants and testified as an expert in numerous murder trials.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Avon; 5th print edition (July 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380715252
• ISBN-13: 978-0380715251
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #505,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charles Patrick Ewing, a forensic psychologist, attorney and law professor, is SUNY Distinguished Service Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he has taught criminal law, evidence, juvenile law, forensic science, torts, and psychology, psychiatry and law. Dr. Ewing received his Ph.D. from Cornell University, earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, and was a post-doctoral fellow at Yale University. He is the author or co-author of ten books: Justice Perverted; Trials of a Forensic Psychologist; Insanity: Murder, Madness and the Law; Minds on Trial and Psychology; Fatal Families; Kids Who Kill; When Children Kill; Battered Women Who Kill; Psychology, Psychiatry and the Law: A Clinical and Forensic Handbook; and Crisis Intervention as Psychotherapy. He is Editor of the journal, Behavioral Sciences and the Law, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a Diplomate in Forensic Psychology of the American Board of Forensic Psychology and American Board of Professional Psychology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good case histories but no theories for causation, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Kids Who Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

This was a well researched and hauntingly prophetic topic to write about back in 1990. Ewing does a good job of categorizing juvenile offenders and makes a fairly exhaustive search of such murders but he does not advance a psycho-social theory for why these kids lack moral restraint or why the numbers of juvenile murderers are increasing so rapidly. I enjoyed the book as a lit. review type of resource that also documents state legistation regarding the penalties for juveniles but I was disappointed because it does not theorize about motivation or possible prevention of homicides by children. To get into the mind (and genes) of a killer I highly recommend Joel Norris' Serial Killers.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intresting read, June 10, 2007

By 

D. Curtis - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kids Who Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

My cousin frist recomended this book to me. The case studies intrested me greatly. The one disappointment with this book was that it mainly focused on child crimes in the U.S and not in other countries. A great book for anyone going into Crimnology.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Naughty Children, February 5, 2005

By 

Laura Torrespico (Chicago, U.S.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kids Who Kill (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a great little chilling book you cannot put down that, I categorize under "escapism" reading. I got my hands on it years ago, and I read some of the reviews where some complained that it was outdated. Well, it has to be somewhat outdated, because it takes time to do research on all these cases.
I particularly like the way Dr. Ewing breaks down the categories of the killings that these children/teenagers commit:

Family Killings
Theft-Related Killings
Sexual Killings
Crazy Killings

Just read the table of contents. Outdated or not, I do not believe motive or actions change much throughout the years. It is angering that some killings are purely senseless and stupid acts. Others are a result of neglect and years of sexual abuse, or physical torture, however they still have to pay the price. I recommend this book to anyone that has a troubled teenager or knows of anyone that has one, or is simply just interested in the subject matter.