title: Psychiatric characteristics of homicide defendants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The authors examined the rate of mental disorders in an unselected sample of homicide defendants in a U.S. jurisdiction, seeking to identify psychiatric factors associated with offense characteristics and court outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Defendants charged with homicide in a U.S. urban county between 2001 and 2005 received a psychiatric evaluation after arrest. Demographic, historical, and psychiatric variables as well as offense characteristics and legal outcomes were described. Bivariate analyses examined differences by age group and by race, and logistic models examined predictors of multiple victims, firearm use, guilty plea, and guilty verdict.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-eight percent of the sample had at least one axis I or II diagnosis, most often a substance use disorder (47%). Axis I or II diagnoses were more common (78%) among defendants over age 40. Although 37% of the sample had prior psychiatric treatment, only 8% of the defendants with diagnosed axis I disorders had outpatient treatment during the 3 months preceding the homicide; African Americans were less likely than non-African Americans to be in treatment. African American males were more likely to use a firearm and to have a male victim. In exploratory analyses, psychiatric factors did not predict multiple victims, firearm use in the crime, or a guilty verdict.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rates of axis I disorders were lower than reported in previous studies. Few homicide defendants were in psychiatric treatment at the time of the crime, suggesting limited opportunities for prevention by mental health providers.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Martone
authors.forename: Edward P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Mulvey
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Andrei
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nemoianu
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shugarman
authors.forename: Layla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Soliman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D057237:Criminals / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003710:Demography; D005006:Ethnicity; D006708:Homicide / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007298:Insanity Defense / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology