Retrospective Evaluation of Cases Examined to Determine Criminal Responsibilities

Even though the assessment of criminal responsibility constitutes an important part of forensic psychiatry practices, it is observed that there is little published data in our country about these cases. In this study, it was aimed to examine the sociodemographic data, characteristics of the alleged crime, their diagnoses and the expert opinions on criminal responsibilities of the forensic cases referred to our hospital.

The medical files and medical board expert reports of 356 cases referred to our hospital by judicial authorities for evaluation of criminal liability, between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2017, were retrospectively examined. The sociodemographic data of the cases, psychiatric diagnoses made according to DSM-IV diagnostic criteria and the judicial expert decisions made about them were statistically analyzed.

It was reported that 22.2% of the cases (n=79) had no criminal responsibility related to their alleged crime, and 17.7% (n=63) of them had partial criminal responsibility. 47.8% of the cases with partial or no criminal responsibility were diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders, and 30.2% of the cases had mental retardation. "Threat and insult", "theft" or " bodily harm" constituted 53.9% of the 471 criminal acts.

Results of our study are consistent with the results of studies conducted in our country and abroad. Further descriptive studies are needed for a better understanding of the relationship between criminal behavior and mental health and for improving the punishment and the rehabilitation practices in this context.