Wednesday, December 27, 2000
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Wednesday, December 27, 2000 |
| New
book shows common signs in homicide, how to prevent being a victim By PAT NEWMAN Why do certain people commit murder? Could their acts have been prevented? Dr. Gregory K. Moffatt, a columnist for this newspaper on family and children's issues and a professor at Georgia State University, attempts to answer these questions in a compelling book entitled "Blind-Sided, Homicide Where It Is Least Expected." I didn't expect to like this book, given the subject matter and the fact that it was written by a clinician. But I was totally hooked after ripping through the first three chapters. Moffatt, who is an expert in the field of homicide risk assessment, takes the reader behind the crime scene tape and into the world of the murderer. In almost every single instance, the perpetrator exhibited behavior prior to committing the crime that signaled a serious problem. Moffatt states that all human beings are capable of taking a life, but healthy coping mechanisms prevent most individuals from crossing the line. The inability to cope, the lack of intervention, mental illness and a host of other variables are the intangibles that, when mixed into a volatile situation, can push others over the brink to act on impulse and take a life. Moffatt avoids psychological jargon in "Blindsided," making it easy reading for the layman. He profiles many highly publicized incidents, including several local murders, such as the 1996 Hoshizaki shooting in Peachtree City that took the life of Tracy Lavallie, and the more recent 1999 Atlanta homicides committed by Mark Barton at the trade center downtown. One of the most chilling chapters in the book focuses on the Columbine massacre and the two boys who masterminded the worst school shooting in the nation's history. The chapter is titled "Homicide by Children, part two," and examines the actions of the Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold a year prior to the shooting. Moffatt divides the book into chapters on types of homicide in the work place, homicide at home and homicide by children. The concluding chapters assess the risk factors of homicide and provide some valuable information on how one can take control and save a life, possibly one's own, if placed in a life-threatening situation. "Blindsided" was published in 2000 by Praeger Publishers, Westport, Conn.; www.praeger.com. |
