Psychological Autopsies in Court
- 1 June 1984
- journal article
- case report
- Published by Wiley in Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior
- Vol. 14 (2) , 88-95
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278x.1984.tb00340.x
Abstract
The crucial concept for defining suicide is intention. A major purpose of the psychological autopsy is to clarify the pre-mortem intentions of the victim, now deceased. This article reports cases in which the issue of suicide vs. accident came to trial because insurance benefits were at issue. Currently, the courts, in considering to what extent mental disorders impair the capacity for intentional self destruction, evaluate each case independently according to its own unique set of facts.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Psychological Autopsy In Equivocal DeathsPerspectives in Psychiatric Care, 1979
- Investigations of Equivocal SuicidesPublished by American Medical Association (AMA) ,1963