NCJ Number
172177
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 21 Issue: 2 Dated: special issue (Fall 1997) Pages: 331-340
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This article summarizes the results of a comparative study of men and women serving time for homicide in Mexico City, with a particular focus on women inmates.
Abstract
The study reviewed the records of 400 men convicted of homicide and 50 women prisoners convicted of homicide. In addition to reviews of the prisoners' records, the study included in-depth interviews with the women prisoners in an effort to reconstruct their life stories. The study attempted to record the types of homicide most frequently committed by men and contrasted those with trends among the women prisoners. The study found that: (1) in homicide cases in Mexico City, women drew sentences that were 25 percent longer than those of their male counterparts; (2) men's motives for murder were extreme manifestations of rivalry and competition among peers, the murders were generally momentary outbreaks of violence rather than premeditated deeds, and were committed in public, outside the family setting; and (3) relatives, particularly children, played a central role in homicides committed by women, which were frequently the cumulative result of an extended process of torture. A man's homicide is viewed as a reflection of a momentary expression of hatred that is compatible with his "masculine nature," and which in some cases could lead to enhanced social recognition. For a woman, such a deed subverts her identity, her female being, and ultimately leads to her destruction. Notes, references