Part of the Casswiki article series Books

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Programmed to Kill: The Politics of Serial Murder is a book by David McGowan, published in 2004, which gives an alternative and disturbing look at violent crime in twentieth-century America, where the author ties serial murders, programmed assassins, satanic cults and child pornography and prostitution to a fascist political and military conspiracy of frightening scope.

Laura Knight-Jadczyk once wrote about this book in her article, “The Cs Hit List 05: Dr. Greenbaum and the Manchurian Candidates”:

What McGowan shows in his book is pretty damning: serial killers with high-level intelligence, military, and political connections (including those involved in pedophile rings), one case of documented MKULTRA research (on Gary Heidnik), mystifying leniency in some cases, and fabricated evidence and sham trials in others. Far from the “lone nuts” that the media presents them as, many of the killers we’ve heard about in all likelihood had accomplices, and rather than having an obsessively rigid M.O., tended to use weapons of opportunity or inflicted execution-style gunshots to the head. I won’t go into the details for each of the killers mentioned (this is getting long enough already), but instead suggest you just read the book. It’s really good, despite some flaws (McGowan tends to harp on the occult angle, and is dismissive of psychopathy). Needless to say, you won’t look at serial murder the same way again.

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