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1. Poisoning and Its Contexts -- 2. Theory and Poisoning Contexts -- 3. Health Care Serial Poisoning -- 4. Assassination and Poisoning -- 5. Terrorist Acts Using Poison -- 6. Poisoning In Warfare -- 7. Mass Suicide Using Poison -- 8. Capital Punishment by Poisoning -- 9. Implications of Poisoning Contexts.

This book examines serial homicidal poisonings in the modern era, to improve our contemporary understanding of poisons, poisoners, and investigation. Drawing on cases of serial poisoning from around the world, the book defines key terms, examines theories and explanations of serial homicide in relation to serial poisoning, explores the features of the poisons and examines the demographic characteristics of perpetrators of serial poisoning and their victims. It considers healthcare serial poisoning as a specific issue. Overall, it provides an outline for developing a criminology of serial poisoning homicide.--

Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- About the Author -- 1 Introduction -- Preamble -- Towards a Criminology of Homicidal Poisoning -- Criminology -- Homicide -- Types of Homicide -- Motives -- Aims of the Book -- Scope of the Book -- Proposed Readers -- An Indication of Subsequent Chapters -- Features of the Book -- Moving on -- References -- 2 Instructive Poison Cases -- Introduction -- Roger and David Cooper, UK -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Paul Marshall Curry, US -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Dr. Harold Shipman, UK -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Julia Lynn Turner, US -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Lakvir Singh, UK -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Kristin Rossum, US -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Jessica Wongso. Australia and Indonesia -- The Case -- Points of Special Interest -- Conclusion -- Suggested Activity -- Reference -- 3 Criminal Poisoning in Theory -- Theories and Explanations -- Biological Theories of Crime -- Heredity and Genetics -- Brain Glucose Metabolism -- Neurotransmitters -- Brain Anomalies-The Amygdala -- Psychological Theories of Crime -- Developments in a Freudian Tradition -- Differential Association Theory and Differential Reinforcement Theory -- Eysenck's Theory of Crime -- Cognitive Theories of Crime -- Sociological Theories of Crime -- Functionalism -- Anomie -- Control Theory -- Rational Choice Theory -- Routine Activities Theory -- Chicago School -- Radical Criminology and Left Realism -- Labelling Theory -- Sub Culture -- Feminism -- Theories of Crime in Relation to Poisoning Homicide -- Biological Theories of Crime in Relation to Poisoning Homicide -- Psychological Theories of Crime in Relation to Poisoning Homicide -- Sociological Theories of Crime in Relation to Poisoning Homicide

This book provides an overview of historical and contemporary cases of homicidal poisoning. While homicidal poisoning is sometimes thought of as a thing of the past, it continues to be a contemporary problem, and in fact the unknown offender rate for poisoning cases is 20-30 times that of other homicide types in contemporary research, and many poisoners commit serial homicides while going undetected. The author of this important and timely work explores the theoretical bases for understanding homicidal poisoning, the nature of poisons used in homicidal cases, the characteristics of poisoners and their victims, and techniques for detection and prevention. This unique book will be of particular interest to: students of criminology (classes dealing with criminal psychology, and murder investigation); students of the history of crime; criminal justice professionals: attorneys, homicide detectives, forensic pathologists, forensic and clinical toxicologists, and other forensic investigators; and all interested in poisons, poisoners and the detection of poisoning. It has relevance to criminology, law and policing, toxicology and forensic science, the history of crime and detection, and criminal psychology.

Samuel Beckett notes an etymological connection between the origin of the word law and the act of reading in the evolution of the Latin word lex (Beckett 11). The word lex originally meant a crop of acorns and its correlative verb legere meant to gather (acorns). Gradually, lex came to mean a gathering of peoples into an assembly - a political or legal assembly - and hence law; and the verblegere came to mean a gathering of letters into a word, to read. In the light of the notion that the Bible promotes unbounded reading, it is necessary to consider to what extent the activity of reading and interpretation is bound by law and convention.