NCJ Number
90195
Journal
Western Journal of Black Studies Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1981) Pages: 224-230
Date Published
1981
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study examines several personal, behavioral, and environmental characteristics of black female homicide offenders, including education level, fighting behavior, previous offenses, crime and violence in the childhood home, drinking and drug problems, employment patterns, and personality type.
Abstract
Data were obtained from interviews with nine black female homicide offenders in three cities. The majority of the subjects committed homicide alone, and the overwhelming majority of the incidents stemmed from problems in a personal relationship with a man or from a fight with another female over a man. Over half of the subjects had less than a high school education, and most were employed in clerical and unskilled manual labor jobs. Over three-fourths of the subjects had been involved in fights as a juvenile or adult. About 62 percent had previous contacts with the law prior to arrest for the homicide. All of the offenders were raised in homes where their parents used physical punishment for misdeeds. Only 12.5 percent of the women identified themselves as alcoholics; however, a majority admitted drinking at the time they committed the homicide. None of the respondents considered themselves addicted to drugs. About 55 percent of the subjects considered themselves jealous persons, with provations to jealousy deemed to be principally related to the attentions and behaviors of their male intimates. Over two-thirds of the women and chosen male intimates who behaved in ways that provoked their jealousy. The small sample precludes generalizations about black female homicide offenders. Seventeen references are provided.