Psychotic homicides in Copenhagen from 1959 to 1983.
During the years from 1959 to 1983, 263 Copenhagen defendants of homicide underwent a psychiatric examination for the court. Twenty-three percent of the defendants were held to be psychotic at the time of the crime. The psychotic defendants differed from the non-psychotic by being older, less often substance abusing and by choosing victims inside their families. It is discussed whether a reduction in the available number of psychiatric beds could be a contributional reason for the increase in especially the number of schizophrenic defendants. About one third of all defendants were by the examining psychiatrists found in need of a sanction different from ordinary punishment; furthermore, a tendency towards sanctions of treatment instead of just placement in a psychiatric hospital was documented and is discussed. The increasing demand of capacity for forensic, psychiatric patients is mentioned.
Gottlieb
P
P
Clinic of Forensic Psychiatry, Ministry of Justice, Institute of Theoretical Statistics, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Gabrielsen
G
G
Kramp
P
P
D000328:Adult; D003416:Criminal Law; D003718:Denmark; D005260:Female; D006708:Homicide; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011678:Punishment; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology