The presence of low IQ and mental retardation among murder defendants referred for pretrial evaluation.
After an overview of definitions of mental retardation and recent case law regarding mental retardation and the death penalty, this paper presents a study of factors associated with a mental retardation (MR) diagnosis among murder defendants. Subjects with a full-scale IQ< or =70 (n=42) were compared with other pretrial murder defendants (n=228) referred for forensic evaluation over a 5-year period. Subjects with an IQ< or =70 who were diagnosed with MR were compared with subjects with an IQ< or =70 who did not receive this diagnosis. Female murder defendants were more likely to receive a diagnosis of MR (p=0.03). MR was also more commonly diagnosed in subjects with an Axis I cognitive disorder (p=0.018). Having an IQ< or =70 was more common in subjects with a psychotic and substance use disorder (p=0.03) and did not necessarily lead to a diagnosis of MR in this subgroup. Implications for diagnosing MR among murder defendants are discussed.
Dwyer
R Gregg
RG
Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC 29203, USA. gdwyer@gw.mp.sc.edu
Frierson
Richard L
RL
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D019992:Databases as Topic; D005260:Female; D005555:Forensic Psychiatry; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007360:Intelligence; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013022:South Carolina; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis