DRUG-USE BY HOMICIDE OFFENDERS

This article uses data derived from interviews with 268 homicide offen ders incarcerated in New York State correctional facilities to examine their drug use prior to and at the time of the homicide, and their pe rceptions as to whether and how the homicides were related to their dr ug use. Most respondents who used a drug were not hard-core users of t hat drug. About one in five of the respondents could be considered pol ydrug abusers. Thirty percent of the sample believed that the homicide was related to their drug use. Alcohol was the drug most likely to be implicated in these homicides. The implications of this research are discussed.