This volume grew out of my Harvard seminar on Confining the Sexually Dangerous in which the contributors participated by discussing these topics and cases and by writing these materials. Some had previously taken my lecture course on Psychology and Law, and others my previous seminar on The Insanity Defense. Profiles of all appear in About the Contributors.
This volume is modeled on the earlier one that answered ninety-seven frequently asked questions and presented sixteen case studies in nine chapters. This book follows that general organization. Because the answer to each question is self-contained and because readers may choose to explore the book in various ways, some materials are repeated where necessary to answer each question. For simplicity, the masculine pronoun has been used throughout when both males and females may be involved. On some occasions, a plural accompanies a singular to make the same point.
In addition to the questions and answers, this volume also includes a number of case examples. As the contributors to this book began to explore their own potential cases, they realized that the original topic was too confining in itself, and all of us in the seminar discussed expanding the scope of sexual dangerousness. This volume reflects that expansion from more narrow psychological and legal issues to include those of morality, and political and social policy as well. Each contributor then explored a case illuminating an important aspect of the broader topic of sexual dangerousness and wrote an individual study about it. These Case Studies are arranged alphabetically. Their subtitles reflect the nature of the primary issue each addresses.
Although this volume includes an extensive Bibliography, it does not refer specifically to each listing within the text itself. Intended for the general reader and not for the researcher or the scholar, this volume assists that reader in thinking about sexual dangerousness by presenting varying approaches to the materials. At the same time, it provides a comprehensive list of references for those who may wish to examine further some aspect of the topic of the sexually dangerous. All involved with this volume urge those who read it to explore at length these other works for their interpretations and particular styles. It is the hope of everyone who contributed to Thinking About the Sexually Dangerous that this volume will encourage all readers to pursue further the many cases and concepts about which we hear and see so much.
