TODAY'S TIPSHEET
                                 University of Virginia

                                      Oct. 2, 1997


        Item: Teens are charged in high-profile murder cases in Mississippi 
and New Jersey, again drawing the nation's attention to the serious problem 
of juvenile violence.

       University of Virginia Expert

        % Dewey Cornell is a clinical psychologist who specializes in 
juvenile violence. He evaluates juvenile offenders brought to U.Va.'s 
Institute of Law, Psychiatry and Public Policy to assess their competency to 
stand trial and to evaluate the reasons that propelled them toward crime. An 
associate professor at  U.Va.'s Curry School of Education, Cornell is also 
the lead faculty member in the Virginia Youth Violence Project, a series of 
institutes held statewide to help educators recognize and reduce the threat 
of violence in schools. He is well-equipped to speak to the breadth of the 
problem in America -- has national and regional statistics. The recipient of 
a Guggenheim Fellowship to research the causes of juvenile violence, Cornell 
can also address factors contributing to youth crime. He is also co-author 
of "Juvenile Homicide" and author of numerous articles on juvenile violence, 
including one showing a direct link between the availability of handguns and 
juvenile crime. 

       Cornell can be reached at (804) 924-0793 or via e-mail at 
dgc2f@virginia.edu.  For assistance reaching him or for additional background 
on his work, please e-mail Ida Lee Wootten at ilw2t@virginia.edu or call her 
at (804) 924-6857.

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