TOM MASON is Lecturer in Forensic Psychiatric Nursing/Research at the University of Liverpool and Ashworth Hospital.DAVE MERCER is Lecturer-Practitioner in the Forensic Practice Development Centre at Ashworth Hospital where he is Course Director for the Diploma in Forensic Care and Management.

• Introduction: the Silent Scream; T.Mason & D.MercerFrom Devilry to Diagnosis: the Painful Birth of Forensic Psychiatry; D.Mercer & T.MasonBeyond Madness and Badness: Where Angels Fear to Tread?; D.MercerControl in the Community; G.McCannViolence, Fear and Power; R.WhittingtonSeclusion: a Catacomb of Control; T.Mason & M.ChandleyMore than a Pound of Flesh: a Patient's Perspective; S.GeorgeThe Nature of the Beast: Sex Offender Treatment; D.MercerRehabilitation: 'The Ship of Fools'?; T.Mason & D.MercerThe Ceremonial and Moral Order of a Ward for Psychopaths; J.RichmanTherapy vs Security: Reconciling Healing and Damnation; S.BurrowLanguage, Race and Forensic Psychiatry: Some Dilemmas for Anti-discriminatory Practice; M.McKeown & M.Stowell-SmithFallen from Grace: Women, Power and Knowledge; M.McKeown & D.MercerDoctors' Orders: The Mentally Disordered in Prison; J.SeniorNurse Education: Scribes and Scriptures; G.Carton.