Traces the history of punishment from the earliest times to the present day. Every civilization has had its code of values, its system of laws-and each has defended that system by punishing wrongdoers. The most free, democratic society cannot allow its members to do entirely as they want, for in such lawlessness, only the strongest and most savage survive. No nation in history has valued individual freedom more highly than the United States of America,...

Details several typical cases, investigates the root causes that led to the development of the killers' psychopathic personalities, and the evidence that eventually led to their identification and arrest.

Criminal trials become famous for a variety of reasons. In the 1920s the Sacco and Vanzetti trial and execution prompted demonstrations and violent riots around the globe and divided opinion in the U.S. The kidnapping of the son of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh in the 1930s similarly caused outrage and horror and led to the passing of the Federal Kidnapping Act. As for the trials of Dr. Sam Sheppard in the 1950s, it was the weakness of his alibi...