Aspects of Forensic Psychology

In November of 1978, 913 people out of 1,100 people committed suicide in Guyana in a settlement called Jonestown. This settlement was ruled by a person named Jim Jones. He held psychological control over the inhabitants.

If Jim Jones had been profiled before Senator Leo Ryan and members of his party were killed, would there have been such an incident? Discuss the following in your response:

• Would there have been a mass suicide?
• What would cause hundreds of people to willingly take poison?
• What would have been the constitutional ramifications of profiling Jim Jones before such an incident?
• Could there have been a cursory profile based on newspaper accounts of the People’s Temple?