Turkish Journal of Psychiatry

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The Disease History, Sociodemographics, and Criminal Features of the Homicidal Forensic Psychiatric Patients Sibel İNAN, Eren YILDIZHAN, Fatih ÖNCÜ 2018 29(4): 258-268
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Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the disease history,
treatment adherence, and the criminal history of individuals who committed
a homicide offence, with no criminal responsibility due to their
psychiatric illness
Methods: Of 197 who had been released from our forensic psychiatric
clinic after one-year-mandatory inpatient treatment, we evaluated 160
patients whom we were able to contact. To determine the severity of the
crimes, criminal violence rating scale was used. The sociodemographic
characterictics and certain variables associated with the disease and the
criminal acts of the individuals were documented.
Results: Out of 160 patients, 48 had committed serious homicidal
crime while 112 had committed milder or moderate crimes. All homicidal
offenders were male. Most were single or divorced, living in metropolitan
areas. 29.2% were unemployed. Of the homicidal offenders,
89.6% had a legal guardian, 93.8% had social insurance, 83.3% had
psychiatric disorder with psychotic features. 29.2% of homicide offenders
had criminal history even prior to the mandatory treatment, most of
which were severe violent criminal offenses targeting directly a victim’s
life.
Conclusions: Among homicidal offenders, diagnosis of schizophrenia
and other psychotic disorders were more and psychiatric comorbidities
were less prevalent. The correlation of homicide and unemployment
points to the importance of occupational rehabilitation. Identifying
preventive factors and determining the risk of the homicidal behavior
in individuals with mental disorders are important for the protection of
both the patient and the public.