Mosotho Nathaniel Lehlohonolo, Bantobetse Mpho Lesego, Joubert Gina, le Roux Helene Engela
Department of Psychiatry, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Department of Biostatistics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Psychiatr Psychol Law. 2020 May 5;27(6):925-938. doi: 10.1080/13218719.2020.1751336.
The study investigated demographic, clinical and forensic characteristics of alleged offenders referred for forensic assessment. A data collection form was used to gather information from 155 offenders' clinical records. The subjects were mainly young males, aged between 18 and 35 years, with low educational levels and high unemployment rate. The most common diagnoses were substance-related and addictive disorders, and schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders. A sizeable number of offenders were diagnosed with an intellectual disability. The comorbidity of other medical conditions such as epilepsy and HIV/AIDS was also noteworthy. In total, 55.5% of the offenders were found competent to stand trial, and 46.5% were declared criminally responsible. Offenders presenting with schizophrenia and intellectual disabilities were often declared incompetent to stand trial and were generally not responsible for alleged crimes. There was association between adjudicative competence and criminal responsibility. The results highlight effect of substances on mental illness and crime.
该研究调查了被转介进行法医评估的涉嫌犯罪者的人口统计学、临床和法医特征。使用一份数据收集表从155名犯罪者的临床记录中收集信息。受试者主要为18至35岁的年轻男性，教育水平低且失业率高。最常见的诊断是物质相关及成瘾性障碍，以及精神分裂症谱系和其他精神障碍。相当数量的犯罪者被诊断为智力残疾。癫痫和艾滋病毒/艾滋病等其他医疗状况的共病情况也值得注意。总体而言，55.5%的犯罪者被认定具备受审能力，46.5%被判定负有刑事责任。患有精神分裂症和智力残疾的犯罪者通常被宣布无受审能力，且一般对所指控的罪行不负责任。判定能力与刑事责任之间存在关联。研究结果凸显了物质对精神疾病和犯罪的影响。
