The JHOs in the present study were drawn from a larger sample of 59 juvenile offenders from a southeastern state who were arrested for murder or attempted murder between 1981 and 1983, and who were interviewed in prison between 1983 and 1984 by the second author of the study. The original sample was identified by the Department of Corrections (DOC) in the southeastern state under study. The following inclusion criteria were used: (1) male offender, (2) under the age of 18 at the time of the homicide incident, (3) charged as an adult with murder or attempted murder, (4) convicted as an adult and entered an adult prison between January 1982 and January 1984, (5) incarcerated less than a year at the time of identification by the DOC, and (6) 19 years old or younger at the time of the initial interview.
The sample consisted solely of male offenders due to the fact that JHOs, similar to other types of violent juvenile offenders, have long been predominantly males [46 (link)]. The sample contained both murderers and attempted murderers because their homicidal intentions were not found to differ; some of the subjects in the sample did not kill their victim due to such factors as poor marksmanship, the physical stamina of the victim, and the rapid availability of medical care [47 ,48 (link)].
Only JHOs who were processed as adults were included in the sample because the vast majority of juveniles arrested for murder in the early 1980s were treated as adults in the southeastern state from which the sample was selected. For example, close to 90% of juveniles charged with homicide offenses in 1983 were sent to adult court in this state. Lastly, sample subjects had to be incarcerated for less than a year because the researcher sought to interview offenders who were still in their adolescent years and had yet to become institutionalized.
Following the recruitment of sample subjects, in-depth psychosocial interviews were conducted with the 59 JHOs. The research protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the interviewer’s academic institution. Informed consent was obtained from all 59 JHOs prior to beginning the interview. The interviews covered areas such as family history, neighborhood circumstances, school and work history, drug, and alcohol use, dating and sexual history, leisure activities, values and beliefs, history of antisocial behavior, and circumstances behind the original homicide offense. The interviews were supplemented by official records, which included police reports regarding the index homicide offense, pre-homicide delinquent history, family background, education and work history, substance abuse, and court documents. The record data were collected from a variety of sources, such as probation department reports, indictment and charging documents, conviction and sentencing documents, and DOC reports.
The sample consisted solely of male offenders due to the fact that JHOs, similar to other types of violent juvenile offenders, have long been predominantly males [46 (link)]. The sample contained both murderers and attempted murderers because their homicidal intentions were not found to differ; some of the subjects in the sample did not kill their victim due to such factors as poor marksmanship, the physical stamina of the victim, and the rapid availability of medical care [47 ,48 (link)].
Only JHOs who were processed as adults were included in the sample because the vast majority of juveniles arrested for murder in the early 1980s were treated as adults in the southeastern state from which the sample was selected. For example, close to 90% of juveniles charged with homicide offenses in 1983 were sent to adult court in this state. Lastly, sample subjects had to be incarcerated for less than a year because the researcher sought to interview offenders who were still in their adolescent years and had yet to become institutionalized.
Following the recruitment of sample subjects, in-depth psychosocial interviews were conducted with the 59 JHOs. The research protocol was approved by the Institutional Review Board of the interviewer’s academic institution. Informed consent was obtained from all 59 JHOs prior to beginning the interview. The interviews covered areas such as family history, neighborhood circumstances, school and work history, drug, and alcohol use, dating and sexual history, leisure activities, values and beliefs, history of antisocial behavior, and circumstances behind the original homicide offense. The interviews were supplemented by official records, which included police reports regarding the index homicide offense, pre-homicide delinquent history, family background, education and work history, substance abuse, and court documents. The record data were collected from a variety of sources, such as probation department reports, indictment and charging documents, conviction and sentencing documents, and DOC reports.
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