MEGALOMANIA: How It Works open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... How does a cult leader gather and control his followers? We have a lot of scholarship which pinpoints his techniques, and folks, we are in the middle of it. Our skewed media has helped him to bring MAGA true-believers into a trance.

Sex Traffickers on Psychological Trial open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... What do sex traffickers--street thugs and rich thugs--have in common? A keen ability to find vulnerability in girls and young women. What do their victims have in common? That same vulnerability. It is a match made in hell.

Women Who Love Captured Men open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Have you ever wondered about women who enter into romantic relationships with long-term incarcerated men--most often convicted murderers? Me, too. I did some looking into it, and I was a bit surprised. See what you think.

Apparently, We All Get a Diagnosis, Part II: Thinking Like a Psychiatrist open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... If you've ever wondered how mental health professionals arrive at psychiatric diagnosis, this post should help. It's an overview of how we rule in or rule out certain categories.

Was There Any Saving the Three Reiners? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... We all want to know how such a tragedy could have happened. Here I take a look at that most human of questions: Who is to blame? Maybe we must face the fact that we sometimes don't have answers.

Apparently, We All Get a Diagnosis open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Ever wondered how psychiatric diagnosis started and where it's going? This week's essay explains how it's put together and the next one, in two weeks, shows how it is used. Trust me, we all make appearances in this tome.

The Tragedy of Police Killing Civilians open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... If police killing unarmed, fleeing black men, or just black people in the process of going about their lives is disturbing to you, there are many reasons and many situations that are sustaining these tragedies. Take a look.

When American Soldiers Murder, Rape, and Torture open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Sometimes murderers find their way into soldiering, and sometimes soldiering creates murderers. Take a look at this essay and see how each occurs.

Jim Crow Lives open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... At a time when we are losing so many freedoms, I need to spotlight the kinds of losses which are everyday experiences for people of color. When one's dark skin collides with the criminal justice system, Jim Crow lives on. We must not turn away.

The Damaged Brain, Part 1: Kirk’s Assassin open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Did Tyler Robinson's gaming obsession cause him to assassinate Charlie Kirk? No, but I argue here that his video gaming addiction did alter his brain such that he lost touch with reality. What do you think?

The Victim Poseur open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Some people--especially facing criminal sanctions--steal the identity of being a victim. Some men are teaching teenage boys to see themselves as victims. Wealthy and powerful men are not above it, even the president of the country relies on it.

Trying to Go Straight open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... It turns out, we all want the same things. Even young criminals. In this post, I present a pattern I often saw that eludes how most folks see them. What we don't want to pay for at the front end, we pay for at the back.

Emotion Blindness open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Most of us take for granted the exquisite dance of emotions inside us. Those with emotion blindness cannot recognize or process these energy states. And that has implications for us all. Read about alexithymia.

How the Fairy Godmother Went “Pouf” open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... What are some ways out of the failure of society's social safety net? I provide some ideas as well as the anatomy of typical failures. This is the first route to change.

There is No Tooth Fairy (The Safety Net, Part I) open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... How is Child Protective Services tied to capital murder? In my two-part series, I can draw a straight line in some cases. Learn about the state of child welfare in the U.S.--not exactly a source of pride.

The New Meaning of “Filthy Rich” open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Is Ghislaine Maxwell a victim or not? That question is worth discussing, but we don't want to insult victims! Read my essay this week about how obscene wealth and unearned power work to create a form of sociopathy.

Why Did the Idaho Killer Do It? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Why did he do it and why did he get a plea deal that saved him from execution? These questions still plague the families of Bryan Kohberger's victims and many of us who followed this Idaho case. Take a look at my musings.

To Be Innocent and in Prison open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... How do innocent people end up with long prison terms--or even on death row? Are there many? I would ask, How many is "many?" How many is "too many?" There are patterns to this tragedy. Find out how we can often predict this injustice.

Putting Mothers and Fathers on Trial open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... How to describe the role parents played in a son's crime of murder? That was one of the most painful aspects of my expert witness work for the defense. They often looked like ogres. They were also usually victims, themselves.

The Power of Deterrence in Murder open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... It might be logical to think that the fear of being executed would stop a potential murderer. But that belief remains a myth, and a very costly one, at that. False security and hazardous trial decisions are the typical result.

Childhood Bullying is Psychological Violence open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Bullying is psychological violence which flies under the radar--which is it's intended purpose. It's not just a childhood behavior that should be tolerated. It's the origin of societal violence.

The Costs of America’s Macabre Luxury open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Most people think keeping someone in prison for life costs the taxpayer more than executing them. With plenty of data to address this issue, you'll find that common sense betrays here. Costs are fiscal and psychological.

When Does a Child’s Innocence End? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Between the defense's invocation of a murderer's tortured childhood and the prosecution's claim of his unfettered "free will" lies the question: when does a child's innocence end? Read my arguments and find your own answers.

Drawing a Bad Hand in Defense Attorneys open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... A good defense attorney is to be prized. When your fate is in another's hands, you want the best. But what happens when the county appoints less than competent counsel? You can suffer, sometimes losing your life.

When Prosecutors Cheat open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... A scrupulously honest prosecutor is crucial to justice. There are those who want to win more than find the truth. Their own ambition rules. We need much harsher penalties for prosecutor misconduct. See what you think.

When Sex Addiction and the Criminal Mind Meet Up open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... The trial of Sean Combs has revealed a person who is a hot mess of psychopathologies. In the beginning, sex addiction sent him on his way to living without boundaries. Abject privilege sealed his fate.

A Peek Inside the World of the Expert Witness open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Most folks don't realize how much of a staged performance a criminal trial is. I take you behind the scenes and you can try on the costumes for yourself.

How to Kill People Who Killed People open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Society does not benefit from capital punishment. Nor from keeping someone in prison for the rest of his life without any possibility of parole. Only a handful of killers are forever too dangerous for release. Learn why.

The Death Penalty Shouldn’t Tangle with Mental Illness open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... In those rare cases where a psychotic person commits a murder, the public takes notice, but I contend they mostly don't know what they are noticing. It is a situation ripe for prosecution manipulation.

Is There Rehabilitation After Murder? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

The Menendez brothers will be murderers forever. But what to do with them is the question. An eye-for-an-eye fixes all such problems. But we cannot call it a "justice system." When is enough punishment enough? Can people change? Let me know what you think. drkateallen.substack.com

How Addictions Hijack the Brain open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... The biggest drug addiction fallacy keeping our expensive incarceration and death penalty system in play is the prosecution's premise: if you chose to take the drug, you chose to murder. Drug addiction vs. free will is the question.

What Happened to the Bonsai? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... What happens to a child's brain, the central organ that is developing from conception until the mid-twenties? Lots. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Then, some of them met up with the criminal justice system.

The Neurology of Crime: Injured Brains open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Most folks aren't aware of the level of brain damage we find in men charged with capital murder. It has profound implications for a system that channels them to execution. Give me your thoughts.

When Killing is Business open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Who hasn't wondered what life is like for the contract killer? Talk about an extreme. Well, it so happens a few of them have thought to write (brag) about it. Get inside the head of a hit man, and be thankful for the sedate life you live.

Women Who Fight Back open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Are women victims of extreme domestic abuse living in a kind of relationship slavery? If violence should be required to get free or to save their own lives, the American courts have a bitter pill in store for them. Tell me what you think.

Incels: Masculinity, Misogyny, and Murder open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... While we are choosing to ignore a disgusting part of the online world, young men--even young male teens--are being meticulously groomed to blame women for their deep-seated problems. And, of course, this can't end well.

How Society Partners with Domestic Abusers open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... It's not as if we can drop off men who beat their partners the therapist's office, and it'll be fixed. The prevailing culture and our institutions actually serve to promote this ongoing barbarian part of women's lives.

Power, Fear, and Property: Precursors to Domestic Murder open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

Leaders with Voracious Psychological Needs open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... Trust me, he may be on top of the world, but inside, he's not at all having a good time. Give it a read, and let me know what you think.

Leaders Who Murder Hearts, Minds, and Bodies open.substack.com/pub/drkateal... How did we get here? It's a psychological progression--for leaders as well as followers.

“I Could Never Confess to Something I Didn’t Do” open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

Sociopathy or Psychopathy? What the Heck? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

It's exciting to meet my first subscriber goal of 100 readers of Inside Criminal Minds. I am honored that people read my take on what makes people tick. Check out my free weekly newsletters at [email protected]. And don't forget to tell me what you think!

What’s All This Fuss About Narcissism? open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

Are School Shooters Born or Made? Part II: What We KNOW open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

Killer Couples: Folie à Deux open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

Are School Shooters Made or Born? Part I: Here’s What We THINK open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...

Can it be possible that a psychotic delusion can be "caught?" Sometimes. Think Bernardo and Homolka, Slender Man teen murders. Find out more in my Substack newsletter, Inside Criminal Minds at [email protected].

Threats—I’ve Had a Few open.substack.com/pub/drkateal...