Dr Richard Taylor on life as a forensic psychiatrist: You need a strong stomach and stamina
16 Jan, 2021 08:00 PM
10 minutes to read
Forensic psychologist Dr Richard Taylor. Photo / The Sunday Times/News
The Times
By: Audrey Ward
Richard Taylor tells Audrey Ward what it was like to work with some of Britain s most notorious criminals, from Camden Ripper Anthony Hardy to hate preacher Abu Hamza. Dr Richard Taylor, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, was walking his daughter to school one morning in 2002 when he bumped into a former patient. The man, Eugene, a talented musician in his 40s, waved cheerily.
Taylor had treated Eugene many years earlier after he beat his father to death during a psychotic episode. He had set fire to the body before sticking a meat thermometer into his stomach. When assessing him in prison afterwards, Taylor had asked why he had done that. To see if he was done, I suppose, was Eugene s reply.