Crime-scene and offender characteristics in conventional and nonconventional stranger homicides committed by male offenders in Sweden.

In Sweden, from 1990 to 2013, most homicides occurred between family members, friends or acquaintances: the annual rate of incidents between unacquainted offenders and victims ranged between 8% and 13%. In the majority of these "stranger homicides," three common motives, as defined by the precipitating event, could be identified: homicides resulting from a spontaneous altercation; homicides committed in the context of a robbery or burglary; and homicides committed in the context of a gangland conflict. The remaining minority-with uncommon or indiscernible motives-could, nonetheless, be categorized according to their nonconventional distinguishing feature: homicides characterized by the offender's ostensibly mentally aberrant behavior; homicides committed in the context of a hate offense or politically motivated offense; homicides committed in the context of a sexual offense; and homicides committed in the context of a mass killing or series of homicides.

Duration of forensic psychiatric care and subsequent criminal recidivism in individuals sentenced in Sweden between 2009 and 2019.

Background: The duration of forensic psychiatric care is in Sweden not determined at the time of sentencing; instead, offenders are regularly evaluated, often with regard to risk of criminal recidivism. The length and justifiability of such a sanction have been greatly debated; however, previous estimates of treatment duration based on datasets delimited to discharged patients-have provided an uncertain groundwork for these deliberations. The aim of this study was to use a more suitable approach to calculate average duration of forensic psychiatric care and to examine the relationship between length of treatment and subsequent recidivism after discharge.

Psychopathy-associated personality traits influence crime-scene behavior in male homicide offenders.

We investigated whether psychopathy-associated personality traits and behavioral styles affect the manner in which homicides are committed or the motives underlying them. Using three nationwide registries and an in-house homicide database based on court verdicts, we identified all cases of homicide in Sweden during the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. In 72 male offenders who had undergone assessment using the Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R), the manner of homicide was categorized as instrumental or expressive, and the motive as belonging to one of five categories: (1) intimate-partner or family-related homicide; (2) homicide occurring during altercations, (3) robberies or burglaries, or (4) criminal conflicts; or (5) sexual homicide.

Emergence of Huntington Disease in a Man With a Premorbid Criminal Lifestyle.

We present here a case in which Huntington disease (HD) was diagnosed upon forensic-psychiatric evaluation of a 34-year-old male repeat offender. Despite a family history of HD, as well as overt delusions and motor pathology, the disease had not been recognized at an earlier stage, and the patient was serving a prison sentence at the time of diagnosis. The case highlights difficulties court officials may face with regard to identifying severe psychiatric and neurological disorders in repeat offenders.