Shay in 2007
Thomas Shay was one of two men convicted in a 1991 bomb explosion that killed one Boston police officer and maimed another. Prosecutors contended that the bomb was intended for Shay’s father. Shay was a troubled 20-year-old from an unstable background when he underwent a competency evaluation at Bridgewater State Hospital in Massachusetts. Although he found Shay immature and self-centered, psychologist Paul G. Nestor, Ph.D. did not see any signs or symptoms of a severe mental disorder or cognitive impairment that might render him incompetent. Shay pled guilty and served 10 years, after which he has continued to be in and out of trouble with the law. Co-defendant Alfred W. Trenkler, the subject of a personal crusade by a former lawyer named Morrison Bonpasse who has written a book about the case, remains in prison.
Recent & Upcoming
Peer consultant
Dr. Franklin is excited to join the multidisciplinary Pacific Forensic Group as a peer consultant.
Podcast interview
Dr. Franklin converses with Laverne Cox about violence against transgender people.
Book chapter
Forensic Psychology in Military Courts, edited by U.S. Air Force Major Christopher Stein and forensic psychologist Jeffrey Younggren, includes a chapter by Dr. Franklin on psychological evaluations in military courts-martial.
NPR radio interview
Dr. Franklin discusses the career of forensic psychology with job coach Marty Nemko on NPR. Listen online or download the podcast HERE.
Career interview
An in-depth interview about Dr. Franklin’s career by psychologist David Webb is online at “All About Forensic Science.”
Training feedback
Participant evaluations of professional trainings has been updated with attorney feedback from a recent training for the Santa Clara County Superior Court on evaluating juvenile competency.
Book review
A review of the first-ever textbook on multiple-perpetrator rape, which includes a chapter by Dr. Franklin, has been published by the European journal Sexologies.
Profiled
Dr. Franklin was profiled in a high school forensic science textbook.