[Acute effects of alcohol and chronic alcoholism as causes of violent crime]. / Akute Alkoholwirkung und chronische Alkoholabhängigkeit als Determinanten von Gewaltdelinquenz.

To study the influence of alcohol and psychosocial variables on delinquent behavior, we coded data from the psychiatric evaluation of 254 defendants using a standardized score sheet, analyzing correlations between acute intoxication at the time of the crime (ICD 10:F10.0), diagnosis of alcohol dependency according to ICD 10 (F10.2), psycho-biographical variables, criminal history, and parameters relating to the index offence. We found that 64.6% of all defendants studied were intoxicated when committing the crime and 25.6% suffered from alcohol dependency. Alcohol intoxication correlated to occurrence of violent crime, cruelty in committing the index offence, and earlier convictions. Logistic regression, with demographic and psychosocial variables entered as covariables, revealed acute alcohol intoxication but not alcohol dependency as a predictor of violent crime (odds ratio 2.3, P = 0.02). Alcohol intoxication and dependency were also independent predictors of earlier convictions (intoxication, odds ratio 4.4, P = 0.0001; dependency, odds ratio 3.6, P = 0.003). Our findings support the hypothesis that acute alcohol intoxication, not dependency, influences violent crime in a direct manner. However, alcohol dependency predicts criminal recidivism.

[Fatal child neglect in East Germany 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990. Results of a multicenter study]. / Tödliche Kindesvernachlässigung in der DDR im Zeitraum 1.1.1985 bis 2.10.1990. Ergebnisse einer multizentrischen Studie.

UNLABELLED: No reliable data are available on cases of lethal child neglect in the area of the former German Democratic Republic. In a multicenter study we therefore examined the police and court records for such cases occurring in the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990 in the entire area of the former German Democratic Republic. RESULTS: A total of 9 cases were reported to the study center. This does not include undetected cases, whose number, though indeterminate, is probably small due to the general obligation to perform autopsies on all children dying before their 16 birthday. Just over half of all victims were less than one year old, the oldest was 3 1/2 years old. Starvation and severe dehydration were by far the most common causes of death; in half of cases these occurred in combination with hypothermia. Most often mother killed their children by neglect, either alone or together with the victim's father. In the majority of cases no close bond existed between the parents and the child. Seventy percent of the perpetrators were chronic alcoholics. All 10 of the perpetrators were sentenced to imprisonment for periods ranging from one year to life long. Mitigating circumstances were presented at the sentencing phase of the trial on behalf of 20% of those convicted. The experience of legal medical and pathological institutes in the former German Democratic Republic underscores the need to perform an autopsy on all deceased infants and young children. Only this can ensure that no cases of lethal child neglect are overlooked.

[Homicides--the sociodemographic background of the offender and the behavioral symptoms]. / Tötungsdelikte--soziodemographischer Hintergrund der Täter und tatspezifische Merkmale.

The authors examined 261 forensic-psychiatric reports to determine whether persons convicted of criminal homicide differed from persons convicted of other crimes with regard to personal biography, sociodemographic milieu, and character traits. Both groups were found to come from similarly disadvantaged social backgrounds. Murderers could not be distinguished on the basis of biographical data alone. The parameters found to be distinctive of murderers were: site of the crime, criminal-victim relationship, motive for the act, intoxication at the time of the crime, and the perpetrator's opinion regarding the purpose and intent of the homicide. The present findings confirm some of the results obtained by other authors on this topic.

[Lethal child abuse (through the use of physical force) in the German Democratic Republic during the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990. Results of a multicenter study]. / Tödliche Kindesmisshandlung (durch physische Gewalteinwirkung) in der DDR im Zeitraum 1.1.1985 bis 2.10.1990.

UNLABELLED: No reliable data are available on cases of lethal child abuse (by active force) in the area of the former German Democratic Republic. In a multicenter study we therefore examined the police and court records for such cases occurring in the period 1 January 1985 to 2 October 1990 in the entire area of the former German Democratic Republic. RESULTS: The study center received information on 39 cases of lethal child abuse which correspond to approximately 7 cases per year. However, a low percentage of undetected crimes which cannot be determined more precisely has to be taken into consideration. Almost 40% of the victims were younger than 1 year, 73% of the victims showed indications of repeated ill-treatment. The effects caused by using direct blunt forces, against the head in particular, were by far the most frequent causes of death. The male contact person (the victim's father, brother or stepfather as well as the life companion of the child's mother in particular) killed the child in most of the cases. As far as it is known, 37% of the male/female offenders suffered from chronic alcoholism; 32% of the male/female offenders were under the influence of alcohol when the crime happened. 83% of the male/female offenders who were found guilty made a confession shortly after the crime had happened or during the interrogations. Almost all the male/female offenders were sentenced to prison (the duration of the imprisonment varied between one year and for life). Due to the considerably lower section rate compared to the one in the German Democratic Republic, it is to fear that each second fatal child abuse is not detected in the new federal states.

Violence, criminal behavior, and the EEG: significance of left hemispheric focal abnormalities.

The authors studies the relationship of EEG abnormalities and violent criminal behavior in 222 defendants referred for psychiatric evaluation. There was no connection between the number of violent offenses and EEG abnormalities in general. Focal abnormalities, however, especially of the left hemisphere, were related to a significantly higher number of violent offenses. In many cases these abnormalities were accompanied by mental retardation, epilepsy, or earlier brain damage. The findings suggest that impairment of left hemisphere functions may enhance the propensity for violent behavior in a subgroup of offenders.

[Not an ordinary case--homicide with impalement of the victim]. / Ein nicht alltäglicher Fall--Tötungsdelikt mit Pfählung des Opfers.

The paper reports the case of a 46-year-old man who was killed by impalement, using an iron bar which was thrusted into the right submandibular region. Further injuries caused by blows from the bar were found in the right parietal region.