Objective: The aim of this study is to examine a sample of male patients from Turkiye with schizophrenia and schizophrenialike psychotic disorders for whom the medical opinion of not criminally responsible is concluded for the offense that they have committed in terms of the association between clinical and offense-related factors and being found not criminally responsible.
Method: Clinical features and crime characteristics’ comparative analysis is made between the sample group (SG) of 51 patients, for whom the medical opinion of not criminally responsible formed and who have been diagnosed with psychotic disorders, and the control group (CG) of mentally healthy 52 people, who are responsible for their criminal acts.
Results: Prior offense, imprisonment, and prior personality disorder diagnosis were significantly high in the CG. Premeditation, comprehending the legal meaning of the act, expected gain, and alcohol/substance use during the offense was found at lower rates in the SG. In the SG, 78.4% had delusions and 29.4% had hallucinations during the offense. The logistic regression model showed that the absence of prior diagnosis, premeditation, expected gain, and not comprehending the legal meaning of the act were found to be the predictive factors of being found not criminally responsible.
Conclusion: The findings of this study might help experts’ decisions about criminal responsibility, and understanding the predictors of criminal acts might help prevent these acts committed by patients. A holistic approach including sociodemographic data, case files, criminal characteristics, and psychotic symptoms is essential for experts to decide on criminal responsibility.