Abstract

Homicide is a major social issue that has been studied by many researchers worldwide. The vast literature available, however, has avoided distinguishing homicide characterized by excessive wounds as a particular category or type of murder. This is what is often referred to as overkill. It has been observed in a variety of incidents, but it has not been systematically defined or examined in the literature in regard to why it occurs. This study aims to define "overkill" based on the number and extent of injuries for LGBT homicides between the years 1969 to 2018 (provided by Dallas Drake, co-founder of the Center for Homicide Research) and, in doing so, develop a classification of characteristics of overkill. The purpose of this research is to gather information from literature and exemplary cases, which imply excessive wound infliction and may aid in defining and analyzing data on overkill. Developing a definition can help facilitate examinations of lethal incidents and encourage the exploration that overkill has to an individual person's death. This exploratory study will discover cut-off points per category (firearm, sharp instruments, and blunt force trauma) of the number of wounds that are to be labeled as overkill. A binary logistic regression analysis will focus on variables that will be used to formulate a definition of overkill. Results indicate cut-off points for firearms to be 3 wounds, sharp instruments 17 wounds, and blunt force trauma 6 wounds. Regarding excessive wound infliction, analysis reveals significant relationships in the use of blunt objects and the presence of multiple offenders.

Notes

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Graduation Date

2019

Semester

Summer

Advisor

Huff-Corzine, Lin

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Sciences

Department

Sociology

Degree Program

Applied Sociology

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0007678

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0007678

Language

English

Release Date

August 2019

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

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Included in

Criminology Commons

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