Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

“We Are People Who Kill…Murder Machines” An Empirical Study of Lifetime Inmate Homicide among Capital Defendants

  • Published:
American Journal of Criminal Justice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Inmate murder is a grave threat to institutional safety in correctional settings, unfortunately relatively little prior research has studied it. The current study analyzed data from 636 capital murderers sentenced to death in California of whom 6% had murdered other inmates during their confinement career. Bivariate analyses found that inmate murderers had more extensive and violent offending histories, greater security threat group involvement, more institutional misconduct, were disproportionately white, and exhibited greater and more diverse psychopathic features relative to inmates who did not murder. Logistic regression model found that interpersonal and affective psychopathic features, security threat group, white race, and institutional misconduct history were significantly associated with prison murder. Prior murder convictions, psychopathy total score, security threat group activity, institutional misconduct, and a multiplicative term for security threat group members with psychopathy had adequate to excellent classification accuracy in a ROC-AUC model. We encourage similar data collection efforts with condemned populations to specify risk factors for individuals most likely to perpetrate murder while in prison custody.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Although theories of prison behavior, institutional misconduct, and prison violence are commonly construed as mutually exclusive typologies, a closer reading of many classic and more contemporary works indicates that even deprivation scholars acknowledged the importance of inmate’s offending history and psychological features and importation scholars acknowledged the salience of prison administration and other environmental factors as important molders of inmate conduct (cf., Berk, 1966; Bosma et al., 2022; Clemmer, 1938; DiIulio, 1990; Hochstetler & DeLisi, 2005; Useem, 1985; Wellford, 1967).

  2. A somewhat similar situation occurred during the New Mexico Penitentiary riot in February 1980 where 33 inmate murders and dozens of attempted murders occurred. However, in the New Mexico event, the structural use of snitches to control inmates instead of the use of building tenders was the informal social control mechanism that contributed to the lethal violence (see Colvin, 1982; Useem, 1985; Useem & Kimball, 1991). Riots with multiple inmate murders substantiate the important role of individual inmate characteristics, facility conditions, supervision dynamics between staff and prisoners, and other factors.

  3. One of the victims of the prison murder was the notorious serial sexual homicide offender Jeffrey Dahmer. Across American correctional history, numerous infamous offenders including Richard Loeb, Albert DeSalvo, Donald Harvey, and Whitey Bulger were murdered in custody by other inmates.

  4. Comparatively less scholarly attention has been paid to prison violence and serious institutional misconduct among female prisoners in part due to limited data and the low incidence of female-perpetrated prison murder, attempted murder, and related acts (see, Blackburn & Trulson, 2010; Craig & Trulson, 2019; Harer & Langan, 2001; Reidy et al., 2017).

References

  • Abbiati, M., Palix, J., Gasser, J., & Moulin, V. (2019). Predicting physically violent misconduct in prison: A comparison of four risk assessment instruments. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 37(1), 61–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allender, D. M., & Marcell, F. (2003). Career criminals, security threat groups and prison gangs. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 72, 8–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berk, B. B. (1966). Organizational goals and inmate organization. American Journal of Sociology, 71(5), 522–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn, A. G., & Trulson, C. R. (2010). Sugar and spice and everything nice? Exploring institutional misconduct among serious and violent female delinquents. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(6), 1132–1140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blatchford, C. (2009). The black hand: The bloody rise and redemption of “Boxer” Enriquez, a Mexican Mob killer. Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonner, H. S., Rodriguez, F. A., & Sorensen, J. R. (2017). Race, ethnicity, and prison disciplinary misconduct. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 15(1), 36–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bosma, A. Q., van Ginneken, E. F. J. C., Sentse, M., & Palmen, H. (2022). Examining prisoner misconduct: A multilevel test using personal characteristics, prison climate, and prison environment. Crime & Delinquency, 66(4), 451–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, H. D. (2019). An examination of inmate adjustment stratified by time served in prison. Journal of Criminal Justice, 64, 74–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, H. D., Caudill, J. W., Craig, J. M., DeLisi, M., & Trulson, C. R. (2021). 99 percenters: An examination of the misconduct careers of the most violent and disruptive incarcerated delinquents. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 60, 101520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cao, L., Zhao, J., & Van Dine, S. (1997). Prison disciplinary tickets: A test of the deprivation and importation models. Journal of Criminal Justice, 25(2), 103–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carson, E. A. (2021). Mortality in state and federal prisons, 2001–2019-statistical tables. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics

  • Caudill, J. W., Trulson, C. R., Marquart, J. W., Patten, R., Thomas, M. O., & Anderson, S. (2014). Correctional destabilization and jail violence: The consequences of prison depopulation legislation. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(6), 500–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cihan, A., & Sorensen, J. R. (2019). Examining developmental patterns of prison misconduct: An integrated model approach. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(14), 2406–2421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clemmer, D. (1938). Leadership phenomena in a prison community. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 29(6), 861–872.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clemmer, D. (1940). The prison community Holt. Rinehart & Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colvin, M. (1982). The 1980 New Mexico Prison riot. Social Problems, 29(5), 449–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, J. M., & Trulson, C. R. (2019). Continuity of the delinquent career behind bars: Predictors of violent misconduct among female delinquents. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 49, 101301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, M. D., Sorensen, J. R., Vigen, M. P., & Woods, S. O. (2010). Inmate homicides: Killers, victims, motives, and circumstances. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 348–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Day, J. C., Brauer, J. R., & Butler, H. D. (2015). Coercion and social support behind bars: Testing an integrated theory of misconduct and resistance in US prisons. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 42(2), 133–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Death Penalty Information Center. (2022). List of federal death row prisoners. Retrieved March 28, 2022 from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/federal-death-penalty/list-of-federal-death-row-prisoners

  • Decker, S. H., & Pyrooz, D. C. (2015). The real gangbanging is in prison. In J. Wooldredge & P. Smith (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of prisons and imprisonment (pp. 143–162). Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeLisi, M. (2003). Criminal careers behind bars. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 21(5), 653–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLisi, M., & Butler, H. D. (2020). Murder as importation: An empirical study of the continuity of homicide offending from community to confinement. Homicide Studies, 24(4), 398–416.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLisi, M., Drury, A. J., & Elbert, M. J. (2019). Do behavioral disorders render gang status spurious? New insights. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 62, 117–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLisi, M., Drury, A. J., & Elbert, M. J. (2021). Psychopathy and pathological violence in a criminal career: A forensic case report. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 60, 101521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DiIulio, J. J. (1990). Governing prisons. Simon and Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drury, A. J., & DeLisi, M. (2010). The past is prologue: Prior adjustment to prison and institutional misconduct. The Prison Journal, 90(3), 331–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drury, A. J., & DeLisi, M. (2011). Gangkill: An exploratory empirical assessment of gang membership, homicide offending, and prison misconduct. Crime & Delinquency, 57(1), 130–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edens, J. F., Poythress, N. G., Jr., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Patrick, C. J. (2008). A prospective comparison of two measures of psychopathy in the prediction of institutional misconduct. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 26(5), 529–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleisher, M. S., & Decker, S. H. (2001). An overview of the challenge of prison gangs. Corrections Management Quarterly, 5, 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox, B., & DeLisi, M. (2019). Psychopathic killers: A meta-analytic review of the psychopathy-homicide nexus. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 44, 67–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaes, G. G., Wallace, S., Gilman, E., Klein-Saffran, J., & Suppa, S. (2002). The influence of prison gang affiliation on violence and other prison misconduct. The Prison Journal, 82(3), 359–385.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grann, M., Långström, N., Tengström, A., & Stålenheim, E. G. (1998). Reliability of file-based retrospective ratings of psychopathy with the PCL-R. Journal of Personality Assessment, 70(3), 416–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guy, L. S., Edens, J. F., Anthony, C., & Douglas, K. S. (2005). Does psychopathy predict institutional misconduct among adults? A meta-analytic investigation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 73(6), 1056–1064.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (2003). Hare PCL-R: 2nd edition rating booklet. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems

  • Harer, M. D., & Langan, N. P. (2001). Gender differences in predictors of prison violence: Assessing the predictive validity of a risk classification system. Crime & Delinquency, 47(4), 513–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hochstetler, A., & DeLisi, M. (2005). Importation, deprivation, and varieties of serving time: An integrated-lifestyle-exposure model of prison offending. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33(3), 257–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irwin, J., & Cressey, D. R. (1962). Thieves, convicts and the inmate culture. Social Problems, 10(2), 142–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Long, J., Logan, M. W., & Morgan, M. A. (2021). Are white-collar prisoners special? Prison adaptation and the special sensitivity hypothesis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 77, 101863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxson, C. L. (2012). Betwixt and between street and prison gangs: Defining gangs and structures in youth correctional facilities. In F. Esbensen & C. L. Maxson (Eds.), Youth gangs in international perspective (pp. 107–124). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Palermo, G. B., Palermo, M. T., & Simpson, D. J. (1996). Death by inmate: Multiple murder in a maximum-security prison. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 40(3), 181–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pelz, M. E., Marquart, J. W., & Pelz, C. T. (1991). Right-wing extremism in the Texas prisons: The rise and fall of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. The Prison Journal, 71(2), 23–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyrooz, D. C., & Decker, S. H. (2019). Competing for control: Gangs and the social order of prisons. Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pyrooz, D. C., Decker, S., & Fleisher, M. (2011). From the street to the prison, from the prison to the street: Understanding and responding to prison gangs. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, 3(1), 12–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ralph, P. H., & Marquart, J. W. (1991). Gang violence in Texas prisons. The Prison Journal, 71(2), 38–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reidy, T. J., & Sorensen, J. R. (2017). Prison homicides: A multidimensional comparison of perpetrators and victims. Journal of Forensic Psychology Research and Practice, 17(2), 99–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reidy, T. J., Cihan, A., & Sorensen, J. R. (2017). Women in prison: Investigating trajectories of institutional female misconduct. Journal of Criminal Justice, 52, 49–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reidy, T. J., Sorensen, J. R., & Bonner, H. S. (2020). Prison homicide: An extension of violent criminal careers? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 35(23–24), 5676–5690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schenk, A. M., & Fremouw, W. J. (2012). Individual characteristics related to prison violence: A critical review of the literature. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 17(5), 430–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Serin, R. C. (1993). Diagnosis of psychopathology with and without an interview. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49(3), 367–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer, C., McCuish, E., Corrado, R. R., Behnken, M. P., & DeLisi, M. (2015). Psychopathy and violent misconduct in a sample of violent young offenders. Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(4), 321–326.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shakur, S. (2007). Monster: The autobiography of an LA gang member. Grove.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skarbek, D. (2011). Governance and prison gangs. American Political Science Review, 105(4), 702–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skarbek, D. (2014). The social order of the underworld: How prison gangs govern the American penal system. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen, J., & Davis, J. (2011). Violent criminals locked up: Examining the effect of incarceration on behavioral continuity. Journal of Criminal Justice, 39(2), 151–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, B., Butler, H. D., & Ellison, J. M. (2014). Causes and correlates of prison inmate misconduct: A systematic review of the evidence. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42(6), 462–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, G. M. (1958). The society of captives: A study of a maximum-security prison. Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, C. W., & Foster, S. C. (1972). Prisonization in the inmate contraculture. Social Problems, 20(2), 229–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, N. D., Towl, G. J., & Centifanti, L. (2016). The habitual female offender inside: How psychopathic traits predict chronic prison violence. Law and Human Behavior, 40(3), 257–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson, N. D., Vassileva, J., Kiehl, K. A., Reidy, D., Aboutanos, M., McDougle, R., & DeLisi, M. (2019). Which features of psychopathy and impulsivity matter most for prison violence? New evidence among female prisoners. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 64, 26–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trulson, C. R., Marquart, J. W., & Kawucha, S. K. (2006). Gang suppression and institutional control. Corrections Today, 68(2), 26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Useem, B. (1985). Disorganization and the New Mexico prison riot of 1980. American Sociological Review, 50(5), 677–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Useem, B., & Kimball, P. (1991). States of siege: US prison riots, 1971–1986. Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walters, G. D. (2003). Predicting institutional adjustment and recidivism with the psychopathy checklist factor scores: A meta-analysis. Law and Human Behavior, 27(5), 541–558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellford, C. (1967). Factors associated with adoption of the inmate code: A study of normative socialization. Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science, 58(2), 197–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winterdyk, J., & Ruddell, R. (2010). Managing prison gangs: Results from a survey of US prison systems. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38(4), 730–736.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, S. (1988). Is Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist reliable without the interview? Psychological Reports, 62(3), 931–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA

    Matt DeLisi, H. Daniel Butler & Molly Minkler

  2. University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO, USA

    Jonathan W. Caudill

  3. University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA

    Chad R. Trulson

Authors
  1. Matt DeLisi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. H. Daniel Butler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Molly Minkler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jonathan W. Caudill
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Chad R. Trulson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matt DeLisi.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

DeLisi, M., Butler, H.D., Minkler, M. et al. “We Are People Who Kill…Murder Machines” An Empirical Study of Lifetime Inmate Homicide among Capital Defendants. Am J Crim Just 48, 1248–1262 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-023-09743-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-023-09743-7

Keywords

Search

Navigation