Precursors of lethal violence: a death row sample

A qualitative methodology based on the standards of criminal defense invest igation was used to analyze the social and family histories of 16 men sente nced to death in California. Using a multisource cross-validation methodolo gy, we assessed patterns of impairment, injury and deficit at each of four ecological levels: family, individual, community and social institutions. I nvestigation documented consistent and pervasive patterns of serious impair ment, injury and deficit across the cases and levels. The men share numerou s risk factors and few resiliency factors associated with violence. We foun d family violence in all 16 cases, including severe physical and/or sexual abuse in 14 cases; individual impairments in 16, including 14 with post-tra umatic stress disorder, 13 with severe depression and 12 with histories of traumatic brain injury; community isolation and violence in 12; and institu tional failure in 15, including 13 cases of severe physical and/or sexual a buse while in foster care or under stale youth authority jurisdiction. Appr opriate interventions might have made a difference in reducing lethal viole nce and its precursor conditions. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.