Children Who Murder »

ROBERT V. HECKEL is Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina.

DAVID M. SHUMAKER is a doctoral candidate in Clinical-Community Psychology at the University of South Carolina, Columbia.

Examines the casual factors of violent behavior in preteens as well as the changes in the juvenile justice system in terms of punishment, treatment, and rehabilitation.

Booknews

While the frequency of murders by pre-teens is low, studies have historically neglected them or lumped them in with murders by adolescents. This study is concerned with how young killers are dealt with by the criminal justice system, including judges, lawyers, social welfare agencies, and child advocacy groups. It also considers issues such as media coverage and public perception of children who kill, as well as problems related to "one size fits all" legislation; the current trend appears to be toward trying child murderers as adults, even though understanding their motives and intent is very difficult. Heckel is professor emeritus in psychology at the U. of South Carolina, and Shumaker is a doctoral candidate at the school. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)