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PubMed2004

Characteristics of spousal homicide perpetrators: a study of all cases of spousal homicide in Sweden 1990-1999.

BACKGROUND: In Sweden 20 000 cases of assault against women are reported to the police every year. METHOD: All data on the perpetrators of spousal homicide in Sweden between 1990 and 1999 were investigated (n = 164). A control group of all other perpetrators of homicide in Sweden during the same period, i.e. cases of homicide not committed in the context of spouse violence (n = 690) was used. All verdicts, as well as all material in the police investigations, including interviews with all of the police investigators, were analysed. Copies of police examinations of the suspects, and forensic reports from the autopsies, were also examined. Data on all registered criminality were collected from the National Police Register, and in cases where the perpetrators had been subject to forensic psychiatric examinations, those reports were obtained from the Swedish National Board of Forensic Medicine. In addition, the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version scores were rated from the forensic psychiatric examinations. RESULTS: There was a four times higher suicide rate among the spousal homicide perpetrators (24%, n = 40) compared with the perpetrators in the control-group (6%, n = 39, chi-squared = 55,42 df = 1, p < 0.001). Consequently, suicidal ideation must be considered as an important risk factor for spousal homicide. In 79% of the cases the spousal homicide perpetrators were subject to forensic psychiatric examinations. All except 5% were diagnosed with at least one psychiatric diagnosis, and 34% were sentenced to forensic psychiatric treatment. If it is assumed that the psychiatric morbidity was high in the 24% of the perpetrators who committed suicide, then 80% of all perpetrators of spouse homicide during the study period can be characterized as mentally disordered. 'Psychopathic' perpetrators, who generally are over-represented in most violent criminality, were comparatively uncommon. Only seven (4%) in the study group met the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy as measured with the PCL:SV. DISCUSSION: The group of spouse killers studied here fits the dysphoric/borderline group of spouse assaulters. This is a group that may benefit from treatment. Perhaps police officers could help identify this kind of spouse assaulter before a fatality occurs.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Artefact in forensic medicine: scrotal mummification.

Misinterpretation of postmortem artefacts in forensic medical practice may result in a misdiagnosis of criminal activity. Forensic physicians at the scene can liaise with forensic pathologists and visit the mortuary in the company of the crime scene investigators or scenes-of-crime officers to ensure all relevant facts are identified. In this case a postmortem change created by partial dessication of the scrotal skin was misinterpreted as a suspicious injury.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

A multigroup item response theory analysis of the psychopathy checklist--revised.

Item response theory was used to investigate the functioning of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991, 2003) in several offender populations. With male criminal offenders (N=3,847) as a reference group, differential item functioning analyses were performed for 3 comparison groups: female criminal offenders (N=1,219), male forensic psychiatric patients (N=1,246), and male criminal offenders scored from file reviews (N=2,626). Results are discussed in the context of the 2-factor, 4-facet model for the PCL-R (R. D. Hare, 2003; J. Parker, G. Sitarenios, & R. D. Hare, 2003). Application of a multigroup graded response model to all 4 groups suggests scalar equivalence may hold at least approximately for each population, although the PCL-R provided slightly greater information about the latent trait of psychopathy for male criminal offenders scored from the standard procedure.

Adult↗

PubMed1986

Delinquency cessation and adolescent development: preliminary data.

Recent research on juvenile criminal careers has documented a consistent drop in the prevalence of delinquent activity during late adolescence, but there are only a few limited investigations of the processes underlying this occurrence. The present report of retrospective interviews with a sample of recently "reformed" 15-20-year-old white males suggests directions for larger-scale and more rigorous research.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

The law, social control, and drug policy: models, factors, and processes.

The law is governmental social control; it is the state's most direct intervention in the normative life of its citizens. Psychoactive drugs are controlled through regulation and prohibition, depending on the legal status of the particular substance. Licit drugs are made available through a regulatory scheme of medical prescription and legal sale; health is protected through investigating, licensing, and monitoring the quality and quantity of drugs and the circumstances in which they are consumed. Illicit drugs are forbidden by criminal statutes which create offenses related to both use (i.e., possession) and distribution (i.e., trafficking, importing); no level of use is acceptable and there is no legal source of supply. The agents of control for licit drugs are physicians, scientists, and health bureaucrats. In contrast, the agents that enforce illicit drug laws are the police, prosecutors, courts, and customs officials. The general preventive effect of the criminal law is activated through the threat of punishment and the setting of educative and moral standards of permitted behavior. The acceptability of drug-use behavior has varied widely across time, culture, and substance. What have we learned about the legal control of psychoactive substances? It is evident that a state may become increasingly overdependent on the law and neglect other alternatives of social control that may sometimes be more effective or less costly in reducing the possible harmful effects of drug use. The law is a powerful but also blunt instrument of social control.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[New priority trends in ocular traumatism].

Types of ophthalmic traumas subject to change at present are enumerated: communal, criminal, war traumas, and injuries resultant from emergency situations (disasters). The changes are discussed. Main factors which should be borne in mind when investigating the problem of ocular injuries are determined. Priority trends of research in ophthalmic traumatology are defined.

Eye Injuries↗

PubMed2006

Facial emotion processing in criminal psychopathy. Preliminary functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that people with psychopathic disorders lack empathy because they have deficits in processing distress cues (e.g. fearful facial expressions). AIMS: To investigate brain function when individuals with psychopathy and a control group process facial emotion. METHOD: Using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging we compared six people scoring > or =25 on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and nine non-psychopathic healthy volunteers during an implicit emotion processing task using fearful, happy and neutral faces. RESULTS: The psychopathy group showed significantly less activation than the control group in fusiform and extrastriate cortices when processing both facial emotions. However, emotion type affected response pattern. Both groups increased fusiform and extrastriate cortex activation when processing happy faces compared with neutral faces, but this increase was significantly smaller in the psychopathy group. In contrast, when processing fearful faces compared with neutral faces, the control group showed increased activation but the psychopathy group decreased activation in the fusiform gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: People with psychopathy have biological differences from controls when processing facial emotion, and the pattern of response differs according to emotion type.

Antisocial Personality Disorder↗

PubMed2003

Estimation of postmortem interval using the protein marker cardiac Troponin I.

The importance of determining the time since death is crucial to criminal, civil and forensic cases. A technique exploiting the degradation of a protein, cardiac Troponin I (cTnI), to estimate the postmortem interval (PMI) was investigated. Cardiac Troponin I is a basic regulatory protein found as part of a ternary complex responsible for calcium dependent muscle contraction. An efficient extraction protocol to analyze the banding pattern of cTnI in postmortem tissue was developed. The analysis involves extraction of the protein, separation by denaturing gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and visualization by Western blot using cTnI specific monoclonal antibodies. A bovine model was used to develop and optimize the protocol. The homology of cTnI amongst mammalian species allows for the cross-reaction of human anti-cTnI antibodies with bovine cTnI. The results indicate a characteristic banding pattern amongst human cadavers (n=6), a pseudo-linear relationship between percent cTnI degraded and the log of the time since death (r>0.95), and a qualitative degradation band pattern that in a simple comparative analysis with a standard human heart (known time since death) can be used to estimate the postmortem interval. The degradation-banding pattern of tissue cTnI is useful in the determination of the early postmortem (pm) interval (0-5 days). Overall, this technique offers advantages such a wide postmortem interval, measurable degradation pattern, a temporal semiquantitative relationship and manageable temperature dependence over direct temperature methods.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

A prospective replication of the protective effects of IQ in subjects at high risk for juvenile delinquency.

The purpose of the study was to test the replicability of a protective effect of high IQ against criminality. Support has been found in prior studies for the hypotheses that Ss at high risk would have an elevated risk of serious criminal involvement, that seriously criminal Ss would have a lower mean IQ score than noncriminal Ss, and that Ss at high risk who had not become involved in serious criminal behavior would have the highest IQs. This report tests these hypotheses in a prospective design. Subjects were 1,037 members of a longitudinal investigation of a New Zealand birth cohort. IQs were examined for male and female Ss who were divided into 4 groups formed on the basis of risk status at age 5 years and delinquency outcome at ages 13 and 15. Analyses were conducted with and without mild delinquents excluded from the nondelinquent groups. We found that male and female delinquents showed significantly lower IQ scores than nondelinquents. By varying S selection procedures, we also found that a very high IQ may help boys, even those at risk, to stay free of delinquency altogether.

Child, Preschool↗

PubMed2001

Suspicious death related to gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) toxicity.

I present a case report of a death following the use of gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) in combination with alcohol; this was the third death reported in the UK, with, to date, at least 27 deaths in America. GHB is also known as one of those used in drug rape; in particular, as it is colourless and odourless, it is very easy to add to drinks; although it has a short half-life of 20 min, the effect is prolonged with the alcohol used to disguise it and it has a marked amnesic effect, making it harder for the victim to present for help and forensic investigation. There is currently a campaign to consider re-classification of gamma-hydroxybutyrate as a Schedule1 drug, whereby possession will become a criminal offence.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1976

An analysis of homicide by young persons in England and Wales.

An analysis of 11 children (one girl, 10 boys) convicted of homicide indicates a maternal over-dominant relationship in eight of the males studied. The murderers were found to have more cooperative personalities than other children found guilty of non-capital offences and showed both normal intelligence and personality factors. Despite a history of "blackouts" in several cases, all were found on investigation to be free from both major and minor epilepsy. Difficulty was experienced in determining the presence or absence of parental alcoholism, promiscuity, and criminal convictions. All of the children came from normal homes and apart from minor offences none had been involved previously in serious antisocial behaviour. Future research is indicated on two aspects: (a) Role of the working mother with particular reference to maternal dominance and (b) The "Cycle of Deprivation" theory.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1996

Forecasting recidivism in delinquency by intelligence and related constructs.

In a longitudinal survey of 122 healthy criminal offenders aged 18 to 37 years, the relationship between intelligence measured by the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), neuropsychological scales and delinquency was investigated. The Benton Test correlates well with the WAIS and moderately with offence data, but not with recidivism in delinquency. The 122 men had normal intelligence test scores (average IQ = 102), but bad school and working records. The 34 per cent and 60 per cent respectively of offenders, who relapsed within the time span of 1.5 and 3 years respectively, showed significantly worse results in the Verbal Scale and in the Block Design of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale. Poor performance in the Information and the Block Design sub-tests of the WAIS, a low level of formal education and the belief in external control by circumstances and powerful others are predictors of a high risk of recidivism.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Caring for people with a learning disability who are victims of crime.

This article considers the increased vulnerability of people with a learning disability to crime ranging from verbal abuse to physical or sexual assault. The difficulties faced by people with a learning disability in giving evidence, being treated as credible witnesses and ensuring that the alleged offender has to answer charges are explored. It is suggested that ways of remedying these difficulties must be pursued in order that all citizens have equal rights, including access to the processes of the civil and criminal justice system. Offences committed within service settings should be treated as they would in any other sphere of society and should be recorded, investigated and the appropriate action taken.

Crime Victims↗

PubMed1997

How far up will it go? 'First phase' of Columbia probe nets 3 indictments.

In the wake of last week's criminal indictments of three Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. executives, the question on everyone's mind is: How far up the chain of command will the investigation go? Some observers say the feds are looking toward the top. Meanwhile, Thomas Frist Jr., M.D., Columbia's new chief executive officer, in an interview with Modern Healthcare, vowed to build a new value system and corporate culture to turn the company around.

Chief Executive Officers, Hospital↗

PubMed1999

Dealing with mental hospital violence and abuse.

Heavy investments in security systems designed to stem violence at mental institutions in California and New Jersey have resulted from investigations by state officials. In one case, the challenge of a changing mix of mental patients, with a much greater percentage being referred by criminal courts, has spurred changes in security. In another, an extensive camera surveillance system is being installed to reduce incidents of abuse of patients by staff members.

California↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Death in homes for the aged/nursing homes from the legal medicine viewpoint].

Following the death of 16 inhabitants of a nursing home within a period of 2 weeks, the prosecution ordered legal autopsies in all of the cases, which had not yet been buried or cremated, suspecting a neglect of nursing or active euthanasia respectively. Two out of a total of ten cases revealed drug overdoses which could have explained death. However, due to concurring causes of death, the evidence could not be furnished with adequate security. In the present case, the examinations helped--already in a preliminary stage of the investigations--to prevent the authorities from more expensive proceedings as well as the respective nursing home from being unjustly suspected of having committed a criminal offense.

Aged↗

PubMed1999

[Psychiatric observations 1986-1993. Sygehus Fyn, Middelfart, the unit of forensic psychiatry].

Two hundred and sixty psychiatric reports for law courts conducted between 1986-1993 at the Unit of Forensic Psychiatry, Middelfart were reviewed. The aim was to record a number of essential characteristics with special focus on the number of reports, demographic data, diagnosis and type of criminal act. All the offenders were inhabitants of the county of Funen, where about 50-60 reports for law courts were carried out each year during the period of investigation. Serious crimes (homicide, attempted suicide, violence, arson and rape), were mainly (74%) committed by offenders with personality disorder, of whom few were sentenced to special measures. However, a higher percentage than expected of individuals charged with arson were psychotic (30%) and mentally retarded (10%). Schizophrenics and individuals with other types of non-affective psychosis covered a higher percentage of persons charged with violence compared to manic-depressive individuals. Fifty percent of the offenders were chronic drug abusers.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Psychoanalytic studies and examination of imputability].

The Author points out that the recent contributions to the study of the crime require an improvement of the traditional principles followed for the investigation and qualification of the crime, as regards both its psychological dynamics and any juridical implications. The Author also shows that psychoanalysis is able to determine a decisive evolution in the eitology as well in the therapy of criminality. After a few preliminary considerations on the ambiguity of the idea of insanity, in accordance with the ordinary nosographic principles formulated in psychiatry, the Author emphasizes the uncertainties and discrepancies that, in the legislative systems from different countries, result from a limited view of the psychological phenomena. Then, he examines the utility of considering again the whole intra-psychic process which is involved in the crime dynamics through a psychoanalytical methodology. Particularly, he highlights the clarification which psycho-analysis may bring to the understanding of certain forms of aggressiveness which cannot be properly diagnosed according to the conventional medical and juridical methods. The Author finally considers the opening of the psycho-analytical application in the delicate examination of imputability. In this regard, he suggests to avoid any strict qualification, even in the evaluation of the most abnormal processes of psyche and he recommends--in conformity with a few juridical trends appeared in some countries--not to limit the investigation on the ability of understanding and will to the moment when a crime is committed, but to extend it to a single evaluation of the whole personality of the criminal.

Criminal Psychology↗