Channel 4

Documentary

Difficulty level: moderate

This riveting TV series follows three convicted murderers through 3 hour long episodes to determine whether they truly had control over their actions, or whether hidden factors meant they couldn’t avoid their crime. It is lead by forensic psychologist Dr Vicky Thakordas-Desai and neurocriminologist Professor Adrian Raine. Thakordas-Desai investigates the criminals’ emotional history by interviewing them about their crime and the how their life led to it. She takes them back to their childhood homes, leading them through places that stood out in their memory to try and gage a view on the external factors that influenced their upbringing. It is fascinating to learn about the  features that are consistent throughout the three individuals and how much childhood incidents can affect the rest of an individual’s life, both physically and psychologically. Raine studied the criminals’ biology by scanning their brains, measuring their heart and sweat rate and analysing their hormonal activity. He theorised that the minor physical anomalies and trauma that could affect the functions of the brain, and so conducted brain scans on the subjects, finding really interesting structural changes in the organ.

This TV show is perfect for any who is interested in criminal psychology, as it is a true nature versus nurture struggle clearly outlined throughout. Even if you don’t have a particular interest in this field, What Makes a Murderer is still a fascinating watch, even if you just watch one singular episode, as every episode follows a different individual. This series is an extremely interesting dip into the world of criminology and the huge extent to which early experiences can not only affect individuals psychology hugely, resulting in some not able to feel basic human emotions, but also physical with large changes in the size of structures in the brain. There is also a debate raised whether the criminals truly had control over their actions and therefore responsible, because of their body predisposing them to act a certain way. Thakordas-Desai and Raine are very clear that they are not trying to create excuses for crime through their research, but the multitude of findings discovered may act as foundations for an opposing argument.

Let us know your opinion on whether the three subjects truly had control over their actions and are responsible for their crimes in the comments below.

– Molly Light