Citation

Houmes BV, Miller SG. Am. J. Forensic Psychiatr. 2004; 25(2): 25-34.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, American College of Forensic Psychiatry, Publisher R. Shlensky)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. The President died the following morning and Booth was subsequently killed by soldiers pursuing him on April 26, 1865. "Suicide by cop" is a term used by many to describe any incident where a suicidal individual provokes law enforcement officers to kill him. This article defines the term "suicide by cop" and discusses pertinent risk factors and indicators related to the death of John Wilkes Booth. We believe that the circumstances of Booth's death illustrate an early, previously unpublished case of this phenomenon.

Language: en

Keywords

human; suicide; male; case report; risk factor; review; death; law enforcement; soldier