NCJ Number
197650
Journal
Homicide Studies Volume: 6 Issue: 4 Dated: November 2002 Pages: 297-324
Date Published
November 2002
Length
28 pages
Annotation
Homicides committed by females in Georgia counties over a 9-year period are detailed in this article.
Abstract
This article examines and details 42 homicides committed by females in 3 counties in Georgia from January 1, 1990, to September 24, 1999. After discussing the immense attention paid to women arrested for committing homicides, this article presents an in-depth examination of previous research and literature addressing women who kill, arguing that most studies focus on homicides committed in self-defense and homicides committed in densely populated areas. Focusing on 42 female committed homicides in Burke, Columbia, and Richmond counties in Georgia, the authors argue that this study was intended to discuss the dynamics associated with women who killed in less densely populated areas of the United States. Of the 44 women arrested for 42 cases of homicide with 43 victims, 14 women were eventually found guilty of manslaughter, 13 pleaded guilty to the killing or a lesser charge, 2 were found not guilty, and 2 were found not guilty by reason of insanity. Examining offender characteristics, the authors found that the majority of women who killed were African-American averaging 27 years of age, who used guns 62 percent of the time to commit the killings. Almost 66 percent, or 29 of the 44 women, acted alone in committing the killings, and 23 percent of these women were unemployed at the time of the homicides. The authors also found that only 6.8 percent of the homicide victims were strangers to their killers. The article concludes that in-depth interviews with females who commit homicides would greatly enhance researchers’ knowledge concerning female committed homicides. Tables, notes, references