NASHVILLE, Tenn. – John Douglas, former special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has hunted some of the most notorious criminals of our time and he will share an inside look during a free public lecture at Vanderbilt University, Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m.
His talk will be held in the ballroom of the university’s Student Life Center off 25th Avenue South. The lecture is for mature audiences only.
Douglas has investigated the “Trailside Killer” in San Francisco, the Atlanta child murders, Seattle’s “Green River Killer” and the Tylenol poisonings. He has confronted, interviewed and studied dozens of serial killers and assassins – including Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, Richard Speck, John Wayne Gacy, David Berkowitz (Son of Sam) and James Earl Ray – for a landmark study to understand their motives and motivations.
During his lecture at Vanderbilt he will profile an especially cruel murder case that happened in Tennessee. The convicted killer has been on death row longer than the victim’s lifetime.
Douglas’ lecture is part of the Project Dialogue series, a yearlong, university-wide program that seeks to involve the entire Vanderbilt community in public debate and discussion, and attempts to connect classroom learning with larger societal issues.
Project Dialogue, which started in 1989, is held every other year at the university and allows each student generation the opportunity to participate in two Project Dialogue series while attending Vanderbilt. Each year’s series centers on a particular theme. This academic year’s theme is “Crime & The Ultimate Punishment.”
As founder and chief of the FBI’s Investigative Support Unit – the team that tackles the most baffling and senseless of unsolved violent crimes – Douglas ushered in a new age in behavioral science and criminal profiling. Several television shows are based on his exploits and he was the model for the character “Special Agent Jack Crawford” – played by actor Scott Glenn – in the major motion picture The Silence of the Lambs.
During his more than 25 years with the FBI, he has helped police departments and prosecutors from around the world. In addition to providing pro bono assistance to police and victims of violent crimes, Douglas hosts a crime analysis radio show called “The Mindhunter” each week on one of the top talk radio stations in the country – KFI-640 AM in Burbank, Calif.
He has co-authored – with Mark Olshaker – three national bestsellers, Obsession, Mind Hunter and Unabomber: On the Trail of America’s Most Wanted Serial Killer. His most recent book – co-authored with Stephen Singular – is Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet. The book is a cautionary look at cybercrime and explores the personality behind the Internet’s first serial killer.
Douglas provided consultation in the O.J. Simpson civil case and the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. He is also the author of the landmark books Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives and Crime Classification Handbook.
An Air Force veteran, he holds a doctor of education degree and lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
For more information about upcoming events in the Project Dialogue series, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/dialogue/.
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