Homicides by Females

• NCJ Number: 87364
• Journal: Indian Journal of Criminology Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1983) Pages: 8-17
• Author(s): M B Rani
• Date Published: 1983
• Length: 10 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: India

Annotation

This Indian study interviewed 35 females convicted of murder to determine the nature and pattern of the offenses and information on religion and caste, place of birth and residence, age, education, occupation and income, marital status, relationship to household members, and cause of the offense.

Abstract

All 35 of the subjects were convicted of murder in the State of Andhra Pradesh from 1974 to 1978. Fourteen of the respondents confessed their guilt while three confessed partially and the remaining eighteen denied any involvement in the offense. All of the 14 confessed murders involved single victims, and most of the murders were committed either in the bedroom, kitchen, or backyard of the victim's home. In 11 of the 14 murders, victims were from the offenders' family of procreation, while in 2 cases the victims were the offenders' illegitimate children. The remaining victim was not a family member. In 8 of the 14 cases, the victim was choked to death, and poison was used in most of the other cases. The majority of the subjects were Hindus, with more than half belonging to Backward Castes. A majority of the subjects were born in rural areas and lived in rural areas at the time of the offense. The majority of the respondents were from 21 to 40 years-old, and only 12 of the 35 were literate. Sixteen of the subjects were engaged in occupations such as small business, casual and domestic labor while the others were dependents. Sixty percent of the subjects were married, and only 6 of the entire sample had cordial relations with other household members. Fifty-eight factors were cited by the 14 confessors as being major or contributory causes of the offense. In most of the cases, domestic provocations were said to have precipitated the murder. In 33 of the 35 cases, the subjects claimed to have been deprived of love from their parents and members of their current households, manifested as persistent abusive treatment. Tabular data and 13 references are provided.