Are Mass Murderers Insane? Usually Not, Researchers Say
- 7 years ago
Are Mass Murderers Insane? Usually Not, Researchers Say
Analyzing his database, Dr. Stone has concluded that about 65 percent of mass killers exhibited no evidence of a severe mental disorder; 22 percent likely had psychosis, the delusional thinking and hallucinations
that characterize schizophrenia, or sometimes accompany mania and severe depression.
About one in five are likely psychotic or delusional, according to Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist
at Columbia University who maintains a database of 350 mass killers going back more than a century.
“The majority of the killers were disgruntled workers or jilted lovers who were acting on a deep sense of injustice,”
and not mentally ill, Dr. Stone said of his research.
Even if spree killers have committed domestic violence disproportionately more often —
and this assertion is in dispute — the vast majority of men who are guilty of that crime never proceed to mass murder.
The overall rate of any psychiatric history among mass killers — including such probable diagnoses as depression, learning disabilities or A. D.H. D.
About two-thirds of this group had faced “long-term stress,” like trouble at school or keeping
a job, failure in business, or disabling physical injuries from, say, a car accident.
In a 2016 analysis of 71 lone-actor terrorists and 115 mass killers, researchers convened by the Department of
Justice found the rate of psychotic disorders to be about what Dr. Stone had discovered: roughly 20 percent.
Analyzing his database, Dr. Stone has concluded that about 65 percent of mass killers exhibited no evidence of a severe mental disorder; 22 percent likely had psychosis, the delusional thinking and hallucinations
that characterize schizophrenia, or sometimes accompany mania and severe depression.
About one in five are likely psychotic or delusional, according to Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist
at Columbia University who maintains a database of 350 mass killers going back more than a century.
“The majority of the killers were disgruntled workers or jilted lovers who were acting on a deep sense of injustice,”
and not mentally ill, Dr. Stone said of his research.
Even if spree killers have committed domestic violence disproportionately more often —
and this assertion is in dispute — the vast majority of men who are guilty of that crime never proceed to mass murder.
The overall rate of any psychiatric history among mass killers — including such probable diagnoses as depression, learning disabilities or A. D.H. D.
About two-thirds of this group had faced “long-term stress,” like trouble at school or keeping
a job, failure in business, or disabling physical injuries from, say, a car accident.
In a 2016 analysis of 71 lone-actor terrorists and 115 mass killers, researchers convened by the Department of
Justice found the rate of psychotic disorders to be about what Dr. Stone had discovered: roughly 20 percent.