RT Journal
A1 Hewes HA, Keenan HT, McDonnell WM, Dudley NC, Herman BE
T1 JUdicial outcomes of child abuse homicide
JF Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
JO Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
YR 2011
FD October 1
VO 165
IS 10
SP 918
OP 921
DO 10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.151
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2011.151
AB Objectives 
                  To determine whether convictions and sentencing differ between child abuse homicide cases and adult homicide cases and to identify characteristics of the victim, suspect, or crime that influence conviction and sentencing results.Design 
                  Retrospective case review.Setting 
                  Homicide data abstracted from the National Violent Death Reporting System in Utah.Participants 
                  All deaths classified as homicide in Utah between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2007.Main Exposure 
                  Judicial processing of homicide cases for conviction and sentencing results.Main Outcome Measures 
                  Conviction rate, level of felony conviction, and severity of sentencing for suspects of child abuse homicide vs adult homicide.Results 
                  Utah had 373 homicide victims during the study period; 52 cases were child abuse homicide. Among 211 homicide cases with an identified suspect, conviction rates for child abuse homicide (88.2%) and adult homicide (83.0%) were similar (risk ratio, 1.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.8-1.4). There were no significant differences in level of felony conviction (adjusted risk ratio, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.4-1.3) or severity of sentencing (adjusted risk ratio, 0.8; 95% CI, 0.5-1.5) for suspects of child abuse homicide vs adult homicide. Among child abuse homicide cases, no demographic factor was significantly associated with felony conviction results.Conclusion 
                  Suspects of child abuse homicide are convicted at a rate similar to that of suspects of adult homicide and receive similar levels of felony conviction and severity of sentencing.