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PAPERS:
Jenny Shaw, Isabelle M. Hunt, Sandra Flynn, Janet Meehan, Jo Robinson, Harriet Bickley, Rebecca Parsons, Kerry McCann, James Burns, Tim Amos, Navneet Kapur, and Louis Appleby
Rates of mental disorder in people convicted of homicide: National clinical survey
The British Journal of Psychiatry 2006; 188: 143-147 [Abstract] [Full text] [PDF]
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[Read eLetter] Easy to catch? Over representation of schizophrenia in people convicted of homicide
Mohammad S Rahman, Birgit Völlm, Clinical Lecturer and SpR in Forensic Psychiatry   (1 March 2006)

Easy to catch? Over representation of schizophrenia in people convicted of homicide 1 March 2006
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Mohammad S Rahman,
Senior House Officer in Psychiatry
Mersey Regional Psychiatry Training Program,
Birgit Völlm, Clinical Lecturer and SpR in Forensic Psychiatry

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Re: Easy to catch? Over representation of schizophrenia in people convicted of homicide

shaiyan{at}doctors.net.uk Mohammad S Rahman, et al.

Shaw el al (2006) found that 5% of people who were convicted of homicide had a life time diagnosis of schizophrenia. This is about 10 times more than the population prevalence of this illness (Golder et al, 2002). The authors conclude that there is an association between schizophrenia and homicide convictions.

In 1999 the conviction rate of homicide in the UK was around 65% (US Department of Justice, 2004). That means some 35% of people escape conviction. Given the extensive cognitive impairment associated with long and enduring mental illness, we wonder if people with schizophrenia had been easy to catch and convict. In our experience, they give little afore thought to their acts and rarely attempt extensive cover up. In other words, their offences are easy to detect while the more cognitively able perpetrators might have been able to evade detection and hence conviction. This may have introduced a bias into Shaw et al’s study. We therefore suggest exercising caution in interpreting these results as evidence for increased rates of serious violence in schizophrenic patients.

References:

Goldner E M el al (2002) Prevalence and Incidence Studies of Schizophrenic Disorders: A Systematic Review of the Literature Canadian Journal of Psychiatry; 47:833-843

Shaw J el al (2006) Rates of mental disorder in people convicted of homicide: National clinical survey British Journal of Psychiatry 188: 143- 147. doi: 10.1192/bjp.188.2.143

U.S. Department of Justice (2004) Cross-National Studies in Crime and Justice. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cnscj.pdf (accessed 8th February, 2006)