Plot Synopsis

VIOLENT MINDS: KILLERS ON TAPE is a crime documentary series that explores the inmate tapes of renowned psychiatrist Dr. Al Carlisle, that were previously thought to be lost to history. Recording his conversations with some of America's most heinous killers, these tapes helped him discover what drives a seemingly normal person to become obsessed with murder, exhibit violent tendencies and psychopathic behaviors. Before criminal profiling and the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit existed, Dr. Carlisle dared to reach into the minds of the most dangerous killers in the world. Raised as a devout Mormon, Dr. Carlisle firmly believed that everyone is born good and wondered how does one become a monster? He believed if we can understand how one becomes violent, we might be able to stop killers before they claim their first victim. Dr. Carlisle recorded most of his conversations with killers as he searched for an answer. After Carlisle's death in 2018, his family discovered over 650 hours of inmate tapes which forensic experts thought were just rumored to exist. This Oxygen True Crime documentary series centers on various inmates, many of whom were imprisoned in the Utah state prison during the 1970s and '80s. Additional killers profiled in the series include the HiFi Killers, Arthur Gary Bishop and Manny Cortez. Episodes include:

"Ted Bundy" (April 2; 120 minutes): In the first hour, Dr. Al Carlisle's descent into the violent mind begins by chance, when he's asked to run a psychological evaluation on a man who will go on to become one of America's most infamous serial killers: Theodore Robert Bundy. Then, in the second hour, Dr. Carlisle's evaluation of Ted Bundy is over, but his work on the notorious serial killer has just begun. As Dr. Carlisle develops his theory of the development of the violent mind, Bundy escapes from prison and goes on a murderous rampage.

"HiFi Killers" (April 9; 90 minutes): Dr. Al Carlisle's study of the violent mind continues when the men convicted of Utah's horrific Hi-Fi Shop mass murders enters the Utah State Prison, awaiting a death sentence.

"Reggie/Reginald" (April 16; 60 minutes): When a new inmate at the Utah State Prison claims he cannot remember the crime that sent him to prison, Dr. Carlisle's experiments with hypnosis reveal a violent alternate personality hidden just beneath the surface.

"Arthur Gary Bishop" (April 23; 90 minutes): Dr. Carlisle's Mormon faith is tested when Arthur Gary Bishop asks for his help in understanding how he became a serial killer.

(April 30; 60 minutes): Dr. Carlisle discovers a surprising link between the traumas of war and the development of the violent mind when he interviews a Vietnam War veteran turned killer.