Most Evil is an American forensics television program on Investigation Discovery, first aired in 2006, presented by forensic psychiatrist Dr. Michael H. Stone of Columbia University during the program's first three seasons, and by forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie during its fourth season.[1] On the show, the presenter rates murderers on a scale of evil that Stone himself has developed. The show features profiles on various murderers, serial killers, and mass murderers of various degrees of psychopathy. The series initially ran for three season, from 2006 to 2008, and was later revived for a fourth season, from 2014 to 2015.
On December 7, 2014, Investigation Discovery began airing new episodes with a new host, Dr. Kris Mohandie.
Stone researched hundreds of killers and their methods and motives to develop his hierarchy of "evil".[3] The scale ranges from Category 1, those who kill in self-defense, to the Category 22, serial torturer-murderers. Dr. Stone described the categories of the scale in his book The Anatomy of Evil, published in 2009.[4] In a follow-up book, The New Evil: Understanding the Emergence of Modern Violent Crime, published in 2019, he and co-author Dr. Gary Brucato, a clinical psychologist and researcher, break down the individual categories of the scale in detail.[5]
Neurologists, psychologists, and other forensic psychiatrists are interviewed on the show in an attempt to examine and profile the minds of notorious killers. Partial re-enactments are shown along with news footage, evidence, and reports from locals. Neurological, environmental, and genetic factors are examined to help determine what drives a person to kill. Background history and pre-meditation are considered when placing an individual on the scale of evil. The show indirectly deals with the concepts of morality and ethics.
Only criminals profiled on the show to be included below
Dr. Stone, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia, said he had put the scale together based on the biographies of hundreds of killers.