Arcadia Public Library

"A powerful and humane exploration of the "insanity defense," through one heartbreaking case. A three-year-old boy dies, having apparently fallen while trying to reach a bag of sugar on a high shelf. His grandmother stands accused of second-degree murder. Psychologist Susan Nordin Vinocour agrees to evaluate the defendant, to determine whether the impoverished and mentally ill woman is competent to stand trial. Vinocour soon finds herself pulled headlong...

"In this book, Michael Perlin explores the relationship between mental disabilities and the death penalty and explains why and how this state of affairs has come to be, to explore why it is necessary to identify the factors that have contributed to this scandalous and shameful policy morass, to highlight the series of policy choices that need immediate remediation, and to offer some suggestions that might meaningfully ameliorate the situation. Using...

Beautiful Catherine Holly is committed to a mental institution after witnessing the horrible death of her cousin at the hands of cannibals. Her rich aunt tries to influence a young neurosurgeon to surgically end Catherine's haunting hallucinations. By utilizing injections of truth serum, the neurosurgeon discovers that Catherine's delusions are in fact true and must confront the rich aunt about her own involvement in her son's violent death.