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Heart and Soul: The killer's counsel

Heart and Soul: The killer's counsel

Psychiatrist Gwen Adshead reflects on her faith and working with violent offenders

The Documentary Podcast · BBC World Service

February 16, 202427m 21s

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Show Notes

Doctor Gwen Adshead is a forensic psychiatrist working with the UK’s most violent offenders, many of them serving life sentences at Broadmoor Prison for murder. Gwen believes that empathy starts with a recognition that there is a capacity for evil in all of us. She believes that for her patients, “no matter what their history”, therapeutic treatment works. She speaks to the writer and convicted murderer Erwin James. Together they reflect on Erwin’s life story and how he came to commit the crime he did. Erwin asks Gwen about her relationship with Christianity and how it has supported her in her work.