Deaf murderers: Clinical and forensic issues

Data are reported on 28 deaf individuals who were convicted, pled guilty, o r have been charged and awaiting trial for murder. The unique forensic issu es raised by these cases are discussed, and their clinical picture presente d. A significant percentage of these deaf murderers and defendants had such severely limited communication skills in both English and American Sign La nguage that they lacked the linguistic ability to understand the charges ag ainst them and/or to participate in their own defense. As such, they were i ncompetent to stand trial, due not to mental illness or mental retardation, but to linguistic deficits. This form of incompetence poses a dilemma to t he courts that remains unresolved. This same linguistic disability makes it impossible for some deaf suspects to be administered Miranda Warnings in a way comprehensible to them. This paper identifies the reasons for the comm unication problems many deaf persons face in court and offers remedial step s to help assure fair trials and police interrogations for deaf defendants. The roles and responsibilities of psychiatric and psychological experts in these cases are discussed. Data are provided on the etiology of the 28 ind ividuals' hearing losses, psychiatric/psychological histories, IQs, communi cation characteristics, educational levels, and victim characteristics. Cop yright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.