Forensic Psychopathological Aspects of Femicidal Offenders: An Analysis of Insanity and Imputability

The violence endured by women has particular characteristics since most cases are perpetrated by men in their intimate circle, mainly their (ex)partners. This chapter begins with a description of the current state of literature concerning the psychopathological consideration of men who are involved in gender-based violence. While different mental health problems have been reported in perpetrators of violence against women in this chapter, we will analyze two severe psychopathological pictures that, due to their characteristics, could be related to lethal and non-lethal violent behaviors toward women and imputability. Subsequent sections analyze the concept of insanity and imputability in legal and forensic settings across Latin American and European contexts by analyzing thoroughly the three types of formulas in which imputability is structured: the so-called “pure biological or psychiatric formula,” the “pure psychological formula,” and the “mixed formula.” The chapter brings a critical approach when considering imputability in contexts of insanity in criminal settings. It is argued that the analysis and determination of non-imputability require not only the verification of a psychopathological condition but also the determination of the influence of this condition on the understanding of the act’s criminality and the direction of the actions at the time of the act.