Filicide: A Comparison by Sex and Presence or Absence of Self-destructive Behavior

The purpose of this study was to identify sociodemographic, contextual, situational, and individual variables, as well as certain behavioral warning signs, associated with filicide as a function of sex of the agressors and the presence or absence of self-destructive behaviours. The data cover all officially registered filicides committed in Quebec from January 1, 1986, to March 31, 1994, against youths under the age of 18 years. For the group of individuals who have self-destructive behaviours, results indicate that men compared to women are more likely to commit spousal homicide, to kill a higher number of victims, to be going through a conjugal separation, to have committed conjugal violence, to have threatened suicide, and to have threatened to kill their spouse. For the group of individuals who commit no self-destructive acts, women are more likely to present with a depressive disorder, whereas men are more likely to maltreated their children. Men who do not commit a self-destructive act are characterized by a significantly higher likelihood of maltreatment against their children and of tyrannical discipline, whereas men who commit a self-destructive act perpetrate filicide as a means of reprisal against their spouse. Results underscore the importance of considering the different groups of individuals who commit filicide as a function of sex as well as presence or absence of self-destructive behaviour.

Service v. Security Focus in Training Assessments

ABSTRACT

As jails have moved to professionalize their staffs the role of the correctional officer has become broader in scope and now encompasses both service and security functions. However, some research suggests that female correctional staff may have more of a “service” orientation than males. In our analysis of one dataset from exclusively women's jail facilities we investigate correctional officer preferences for training (service v. security) to see if they differ by gender. We find that both male and female correctional officers generally rank service type training over security and that they differ little in their overall assessment of initial training provided and usefulness of in-service training. We also find that minority officers may be more likely to value service training than their nonminority counterparts.     

Crime and Psychiatry in Problematic Coexistence: Four Domestic Homicides and the Nineteenth-Century Courts

Four domestic murder cases of a fairly similar character are described: a man killing his child or children, and in one case also his wife. They occurred in three neighbouring rural parishes in northern Sweden in the mid-nineteenth century within a period of about 20 years.

The four offenders showed all the signs of being seriously mentally deranged. Three of them made either unsuccessful attempts to commit suicide or expressed the intention of committing suicide. The motives of the offenders contain elements of a father's wanting to spare his children from social, economic, or religious suffering.

The key question is why the outcomes of the similar cases differed. Legal, religious, medical, and some popular, normative standards are considered. As well as elements used in the medico-legal examinations, other considerations obviously contributed to the different outcomes, such as the various backgrounds of the offenders and whether they showed regret or not in court.

The different outcomes illustrate a recurring problem, namely how to reconcile ideas emanating from various professional traditions and standards. This is of current interest as evidenced by the number of recent cases where a legal way of thinking is sometimes contrary to prevalent medical ones.