Reckless disregard for safety of self/others.

Irritability/aggressiveness, indicated by fights/assaults.

Deceitfulness, indicated by lying, use of aliases, or conning others for profit/pleasure.

Failure to follow social norms and law, indicated by repeated illegal acts leading to arrest.

This is indicated by 3 or more of the following: ДЄSPD is characterized by a casual disregard for, and violation of others' rights in all social situations. Therefore, it would be prudent to remind ourselves about the diagnostic criteria for ASPD before we proceed further. Many of the criminals, and a majority of the prison population, would qualify for a diagnosis of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Though reprehensible, it is an eye-opening experience to find out about the extent to which one individual could stoop to, to get what he/she wants.Д«efore I go into the discussions of the contents of this book, permit me to digress a little to talk about the psychosocial aspects of the criminal mind, which have a bearing on the contents. If not for anything, the individual stories presented in this book are themselves worth your time. Of the many convicts that he meets, fascinating stories of eight are presented in this book, along with their post-crime mental state.

Mr Guruprasad has taken the trouble of interviewing several death-row convicts, some of whom have committed the most heinous crimes possible. As he writes in the Preface, he was inspired by his encounters with late-stage cancer patients who experience hope, denial and depression in varying measures.

Through this book, the retired Director General of Police (Karnataka CID), Mr D V Guruprasad, presents cases of convicts on the death-row, with the hope of discerning the mental state of such criminals.

Mahadevi kannada serial