Most Evil
| Most Evil | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Starring | Michael Stone |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 28 as of April 7, 2008 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Channel Investigation Discovery |
| Release | July 13, 2006 – present |
Most Evil is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery starring forensic psychiatrist Michael Stone from Columbia University. On the show, Stone rates murderers on a scale of evil that he has developed in order to help science understand and thus prevent this type of behavior.
The show features profiles on various murderers, serial killers, and psychopaths. Stone researched hundreds of killers and their methods and motives to develop his hierarchy of "evil." The scale ranges from Category 1, those who kill in self defense, to Category 9, psychopathic jealous lovers, to the "most evil" Category 22, serial torturers and killers. Neurologists, psychologists, and other forensic psychiatrists are interviewed on the show in an attempt to examine and profile the minds of notorious killers. Partial re-enactments are shown along with news footage, evidence, and reports from locals. Neurological, environmental, and genetic factors are examined to help determine what drives a person to kill. Background history and pre-meditation are considered when placing an individual on the scale of evil. The show indirectly deals with the concepts of morality and ethics.
Dr. Stone's scale of evil is similar to Michael Welner's The Depravity Scale.
The scale of evil
| Category | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 01 | Those who kill in self-defense and do not show psychopathic tendencies (justifiable homicide) |
| 02 | Jealous lovers who, though egocentric or immature, are not psychopathic (crime of passion) |
| 03 | Willing companions of killers: aberrant personality — probably impulse-ridden, with antisocial traits |
| 04 | Kill in self-defense, but had been extremely provocative towards the victim |
| 05 | Traumatized, desperate people who kill abusive relatives and others (like to support a drug habit) but lack significant traits. Genuinely remorseful. |
| 06 | Impetuous, hotheaded murderers, yet without marked psychopathic features |
| 07 | Highly narcissistic, not distinctly psychopathic people with a psychotic core who kill people close to them (jealousy an underlying motive) |
| 08 | Non psychopathic people with smoldering rage who kill when rage is ignited |
| 09 | Jealous lovers with psychopathic features |
| 10 | Killers of people who were "in the way" or who killed, for example, witnesses (egocentric but not distinctly psychopathic) |
| 11 | Psychopathic killers of people "in the way" |
| 12 | Power-hungry psychopaths who killed when they were "cornered" |
| 13 | Psychopathic killers with inadequate, rage-filled personalities who "snapped" |
| 14 | Ruthlessly self-centered psychopathic schemers |
| 15 | Psychopathic "cold-blooded" spree or multiple murders |
| 16 | Psychopaths committing multiple vicious acts |
| 17 | Sexually perverse serial murderers, torture-murderers (among the males, rape is the primary motive with murder to hide the evidence; Systematic torture is not a primary factor) |
| 18 | Torture-murderers with murder the primary motive |
| 19 | Psychopaths driven to terrorism, subjugation, intimidation and rape, (short of murder) |
| 20 | Torture murderers with torture as the primary motive but in psychotic personalities |
| 21 | Psychopaths preoccupied with torture in the extreme, but not known to have committed murder |
| 22 | Psychopathic torture-murderers, with torture their primary motive, sexual homicide |
Season 1 (2006)
Season 2 (2007)
Season 3 (2008)
See also
- List of serial killers by country
- List of serial killers by number of victims
- Spree killer
- Thrill killing
- Psychopathy
- Antisocial personality disorder
- Dissocial personality disorder
- Sadistic personality disorder
- Narcissistic personality disorder
- Malignant narcissism
References
- ^ a b "Most Evil : Episode Guide : Investigation Discovery". Investigation.Discovery.com. Retrieved 2008-02-17.