My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World’s Most Violent Men

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The last chapter covering the murder of a paperboy and how Bert Spencer managed to evade justice os an indictment of the police incompetence. The Interview with a Murderer tv show will be interesting to watch. I am sure the police will not reopen the case. Overall an interesting book. What stood out for me was the contrast with UK and US police interrogation techniques. One investigatory and the other accusatory. I liked the PEACE mnemonic for investigatory procedures: Thoroughly enjoyable and knowledgeable, especially if you thinking of going going down the criminology route as am I. But it’s all great for learning things that you’ve not heard of before. Or a more better insight into things; such as psychopathy.

My Life with Murderers: Behind Bars with the World’s Most

Wilson is an academic and has worked in several prisons including Wormwood Scrubs and open prison Grendon. David Wilson, criminologist, has spent his career working with, interviewing and studying some of the UKs most prolific murderers. In his book, he reveals some of the key moments in his career. I know I'm not the only one who spends their time watching YouTube videos about serial killers. This book is the ideal companion to that pastime. David Wilson, the renowned UK criminologist, author, broadcaster, emeritus professor and former prison governor whose 40-year career has brought him face to face with countless killers, is coming to Exeter during a 2023 UK tour, ‘My Life with Murderers’.

David has advised on live police investigations related to a linked series of murders and has provided training to new Senior Investigating Officers who will take charge of murder inquiries. David Wilson is Professor of Criminology and founding Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University – one of the university’s “research centres of excellence”. He is the co-Editor of the prestigious Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, which is produced five times per year. Prior to taking up his academic appointment in September 1997, David was Senior Policy Advisor to the Prison Reform Trust, and between October 1983-April 1997 he worked as a Prison Governor. I also thoroughly enjoyed the little titbits into prison life with Charles Manson (I laughed out loud at the, in all honestly, bizarre scenario of Manson threatening to stab the prison guards with his moustache while stark naked and covered in shoe polish) and a ‘Furries’ convention that Wilson inadvertently ended up getting in the mix with. I would have enjoyed some more of these personal insights, as they added some much needed light relief to a heavy topic.

Professor David Wilson tour: Criminologist and BBC Crime

David Wilson is the author of the gripping books My Life with Murderers, A Plot to Kill and new release Murder at Home. Emeritus Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University and the founding Director of the university’s Centre for Criminal Justice and Research, he is also a respected TV presenter, most recently fronting Channel 4’s In the Footsteps of Killers with Emilia Fox and David Wilson’s Crime Files for BBC Scotland. Ahead of the tour, David Wilson said: “I’m really excited at the prospect of being able to share my academic and applied knowledge about murder in all its various and deadly guises. I want to persuade the audience that an interest in true crime is not just normal but necessary and, above all, to offer hope about how we can reduce the incidence of murder and serial murder in our culture.” The author’s professional experiences, lets us get a step closer into meeting these people and finding out. Through David’s own thoughts and the conversations he has with these people, it in some ways opened my eyes and was fascinating learning about techniques they use in trying to uncover the truth. His conversation and dealings with some of the more well known killers, was especially interesting. Professor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men – especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK’s youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them that they are a psychopath. It’s fascinating stuff: my only criticism would be that it’s not the most linear narrative. Sometimes I felt like I was taking a meandering trip through Wilson’s thought processes!

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Hugely insightful and thought provoking . . . I read it from cover to cover in one go' - Emilia Fox The issue however is that there is practically nothing in the book that describes how life in prison is. The book is more about describing stories of murderers. This is an entertaining mix of memoir, social history and juicy tidbits about Wilson meeting criminals and getting them to open up over a cuppa.. David’s recent TV work has included BBC Scotland's David Wilson's Crime Files.He appeared with Emilia Fox in Channel 4's Walking in Killer's Footsteps and also helped to devise and present Radio 4's In The Criminologist’s Chair. Interesting - yes, detailed - very, all the different sorts of murder, eg. domestic, contract etc with their own chapters, well-written - definitely and seeded with famous murders that saturated the media at the time, but..... although it was very comprehensive and research-based, it didn't really tell me any more than any other similar book about murderers. And it wasn't very memorable.

My Life With Murderers by David Wilson | Goodreads My Life With Murderers by David Wilson | Goodreads

My Life with Murderers is a reflection by renound professor of criminology David Wilson on his time as governor and assistant governor at a number of British prisons and the numerous encounters with murders he has had along the way. However, it’s also more than that, as it follows Wilson’s musings on what it is to be a murderer and the various types of murderers there are, from spree and hitmen to serial and beyond.

In a career spanning 40 years David Wilson has met all sorts of killers: hitmen, mass, spree and serial killers and those murderers who seem to kill “in 5 minutes of madness”. Sometimes he meets them in a tense interview in a cell; sometimes to share a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); or sometimes just to look them in the eye as he tells them that, yes, they really are a psychopath. David Wilson is Emeritus Professor of Criminology and the founding Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University. Prior to taking up an academic appointment in 1997, David was a prison governor working at a variety of establishments in a number of different roles. With experiences unlike any other and an unparalleled knowledge of murder, David will discuss his fascinating and compelling study of human nature, delving into infamous as well as lesser-known true crime cases in an attempt to make sense out of the senseless. One of those books I could just couldn’t put down. I have watched several documentaries featuring the author as an expert commentator, so I knew I would enjoy his writing as he discusses his career working with some of Britains most notorious offenders, from Dennis Neilson through to Charles Bronson. Many other killers and crimes are discussed, including some not widely reported - or at least not for some time. In a career spanning 40 years David has met all sorts of killers: hitmen, mass, spree and serial killers and those murderers who seem to kill “in 5 minutes of madness”. Sometimes he meets them in a tense interview in a cell; sometimes to share a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); or sometimes just to look them in the eye as he tells them that, yes, they really are a psychopath.

Professor David Wilson - Talks and Special Events at the Glee

Wilson takes the reader on a ride through the penal system in the UK, the psychological bounds of many criminal misfits & finally to the deep-end of the horrible human swimming pool. This book does a good job of covering both the cases he has covered and going into depth about different types of killers while also documenting his life and how he got to be one of the UK's leading criminologists. His current research interests range from the phenomenon of British serial murder, family annihilation, hitmen and lethal violence within organised crime, to all aspects of prison history and penal reform. With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes' - Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of Criminology He intersperses stories of notorious cases - from Denis Nilsen to the murder of James Bulger - to illustrate his themes which include the social nature of crime, and how the murderer is a product of society.In a career spanning 40 years, David has met all sorts of killers: hitmen, mass, spree and serial killers and those murderers who seem to kill “in 5 minutes of madness”. Sometimes he meets them in a tense interview in a cell; sometimes to share a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); or sometimes just to look them in the eye as he tells them that, yes, they really are a psychopath. With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes’– Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of Criminology The tour, which begins in April in Salford and travels to multiple venues across the country before culminating in Cardiff in May, draws on David’s unique experiences and unparalleled knowledge of murder, sharing his unusual career journey, discussing his fascinating and compelling study of human nature, and delving into infamous as well as lesser-known true crime cases in an attempt to make sense out of the senseless. He will be coming to Exeter’s Northcott Theatre on 16 April.