Citation

Reidy TJ, Sorensen JR, Bonner HS. J. Interpers. Violence 2017; ePub(ePub): 886260517721895.

Affiliation

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0886260517721895

PMID

29294859

Abstract

This study investigated prison homicide perpetrators through the lens of the career criminal perspective. Prison homicide, while a rare event, has critical implications for the prison environment. Despite its importance as a form of institutional violence that must be addressed, only four studies in the past five decades have explored the characteristics of homicide perpetrators/victims, the motives, and circumstances of the crime. The goal of the current study was to develop a better understanding of prison homicide by examining 54 perpetrators who committed 37 inmate homicides over 40 years in a mid-Western state prison system.

RESULTS showed that prison homicides typically involved a younger male inmate perpetrator, acting independently, murdering an older inmate, in his cell, by stabbing or beating the victim during an altercation. Perpetrators, in comparison with victims and prisoners in general, had a record indicating more prior community homicides, elevated institutional risk scores, and higher rates of serious and assaultive prison misconduct, all indicative of prior community and prison maladjustment. Consistent with career criminal research, prison homicide perpetrators constitute a small but distinct subset of habitually deviant criminals that perpetrate high rates of criminal and violent behavior regardless of context.

Language: en

Keywords

criminology; homicide; prison homicide; violent offenders