Caractérisation sociodémographique, clinique et criminologique d’une population de 210 meurtriers

Abstract

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.Page 1 A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 3 alcohol abuse or alcohol dependency disorder. À third of the murderers did not have any kind of mental disorder (n = 73). Fifty-two (24%) were mentally ill. Two thirds had a history of mental illness and one third had a record of previous convictions of violence. Crimes were mostly committed at night-time and in the house of the victim. The most common method of killing was stabbing. 14 % had symptoms of mental illness at the time of the offence. The 217 victims were, in decreasing order, a family member, a current or former spouse/partner (53%), an acquaintance (30%) or a stranger (17%). The forensic and juridical consequences (via the application of former article 64 or the present article 122-1 of the French Criminal Code) were envisaged in less than ten per cent of the cases.Conclusions: These data allowed the authors to determine the general risk factors of homicidal violence (male gender, youth and alcohol abuse) as well as some more specific factors (mental illness, co-morbidities…). The dynamic characteristics of the meeting of the crime protagonists should be added to these factors.