A three-year-old boy dies, having apparently fallen while trying to reach a bag of sugar on a high shelf. His grandmother stands accused of second-degree murder. Psychologist Susan Nordin Vinocour agrees to evaluate the defendant, to determine whether the impoverished and mentally ill woman is competent to stand trial.
Susan Vinocour Book order
Susan Nordin Vinocour crafts narratives that draw from her unique background as an attorney and a clinical and forensic psychologist. Her work delves into the intricacies of the human psyche and the motivations behind behavior. With a rich professional history, she brings a distinctive perspective to her writing. Readers will find her prose insightful and illuminating, offering profound understandings of complex human dynamics.


- 2020
- 2020
Nobody's Child: A Tragedy, a Trial, and a History of the Insanity Defense
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
The narrative revolves around a tragic case involving a three-year-old with severe injuries, leading to an investigation into the child's grandmother's mental state. As a psychologist and attorney, Susan Vinocour is tasked with assessing the grandmother's competence for trial, exploring the complexities of her mental illness and socioeconomic struggles. The central theme delves into the legal definitions of sanity and culpability, questioning whether the grandmother understood the morality of her actions at the time of the incident.