Dorothy Lewis
Encyclopedia
Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis is an American
psychiatrist
specializing in the study of serial killer
s and people with Dissociative Identity Disorders (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Dr. Lewis has worked with death row inmates as well as other prison inmates convicted for crimes of passion and violence, and was the director of the DID clinic at Bellevue Hospital, associated with New York University (NYU) in New York City. She is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale
and New York
universities and is the author of Guilty by Reason of Insanity, a book she wrote based on research done with the help of neurologist Jonathan Pincus. Her husband, Dr. Melvin Lewis, a child psychiatrist and professor at Yale, died in 2007. She has two children.
, Radcliffe College
and Yale University School of Medicine. During her research Dr. Lewis found that most if not all of the inmates she worked with have been abused as children. She has found that in most cases both the accused and the family members have been reluctant to discuss the abuse that happened in the past, in many cases she found that the inmates blocked out the memories. In some cases she was able to find testimony to this abuse as well as corroborating evidence. The corroborating evidence often included scars from the abuse as well as hospital and criminal records. In many cases the hospital records of the abuse were attributed to other causes often accidents; however the explanations often didn't match the injuries. She found that the parents of these children often had the same problems as the children and that they taught their behavior to the children. They often relied on excessive force to discipline their children and used it inconsistently. In many cases the children who received the strictest discipline became the most violent. In some cases these children found that if they told other adults about the abuse, which in some cases was very extreme, they found that adults didn't believe them because the stories were too bizarre.
hit Broadway
play Frozen
were plagiarized
from her book.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
specializing in the study of serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
s and people with Dissociative Identity Disorders (DID), formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. Dr. Lewis has worked with death row inmates as well as other prison inmates convicted for crimes of passion and violence, and was the director of the DID clinic at Bellevue Hospital, associated with New York University (NYU) in New York City. She is a Professor of Psychiatry at Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and New York
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
universities and is the author of Guilty by Reason of Insanity, a book she wrote based on research done with the help of neurologist Jonathan Pincus. Her husband, Dr. Melvin Lewis, a child psychiatrist and professor at Yale, died in 2007. She has two children.
Research work
Dr. Lewis is a graduate of the Ethical Culture Fieldston SchoolEthical Culture Fieldston School
The Ethical Culture Fieldston School, known as "Fieldston", is a private "independent" school in New York City and a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. It has about 1600 students and a staff of 400 people , led by Dr. Damian J...
, Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
and Yale University School of Medicine. During her research Dr. Lewis found that most if not all of the inmates she worked with have been abused as children. She has found that in most cases both the accused and the family members have been reluctant to discuss the abuse that happened in the past, in many cases she found that the inmates blocked out the memories. In some cases she was able to find testimony to this abuse as well as corroborating evidence. The corroborating evidence often included scars from the abuse as well as hospital and criminal records. In many cases the hospital records of the abuse were attributed to other causes often accidents; however the explanations often didn't match the injuries. She found that the parents of these children often had the same problems as the children and that they taught their behavior to the children. They often relied on excessive force to discipline their children and used it inconsistently. In many cases the children who received the strictest discipline became the most violent. In some cases these children found that if they told other adults about the abuse, which in some cases was very extreme, they found that adults didn't believe them because the stories were too bizarre.
Views on justice and death penalty
Dr. Lewis is skeptical of the death penalty; however she wouldn't hesitate to recommend sentencing these inmates to life. She doesn't feel she could accept the responsibility if they were released and killed again. Neither Dr. Lewis nor Dr. Pincus believe the death penalty works as a deterrent. She believes that the quest for justice often leads many prosecutors, judges, jurors to overlook things that could be considered mitigating circumstances. She believes that this leads to overlooking the root causes of crime and prevents long term solutions that will help reduce child abuse and prevent more abused children from becoming killers.Plagiarism claims
In 2004, she alleged that portions of British playwright Bryony Lavery'sBryony Lavery
Bryony Lavery is a British dramatist, known for her successful and award-winning 1998 play Frozen. In addition to her work in theatre, she has also written for television and radio...
hit Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
play Frozen
Frozen (play)
Frozen is a play by Bryony Lavery that tells the story of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Rhona. The play follows Rhona's mother and killer over the years that follow. They are linked by a doctor who is studying what causes men to commit such crimes...
were plagiarized
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
from her book.
Books By Dorothy Lewis
- Delinquency and psychopathology By Dorothy Otnow Lewis, David A. Balla 1976
- Vulnerabilities to delinquency By Dorothy Otnow Lewis 1981
- Guilty by reason of insanity: a psychiatrist explores the minds of killers By Dorothy Otnow Lewis 1998
External links
- Boston Globe article
- New Yorker magazine article
- http://www.burellodesign.com/DeathPenaltyPaper.htm