Abstract

According to the Turkish Penal Code, individuals who commit an offense under the influence of mental illness, rendering them incapable of understanding the legal meaning and consequences of their actions, cannot be held criminally responsible. This study aims to develop a sociodemographic profile of individuals referred for criminal responsibility evaluations and to discuss the approach taken in expert decision-making. The cases referred to Ordu University Training and Research Hospital for criminal responsibility evaluations between 2017 and 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Of the 93 cases included in the study, 73 (78%) were diagnosed with a psychiatric condition. Among these, 18 cases (25%) were diagnosed with alcohol and substance use disorders, 13 cases (14%) with major depressive disorder, 12 cases (13%) with borderline intellectual functioning, and 14 cases (15%) with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability. The distribution of alleged offense types revealed that 59 cases (63%) were related to crimes against persons, 27 cases (29%) to property crimes, and 7 cases (8%) to other offenses. The forensic evaluation results showed that 52 cases (56%) were deemed fully criminally responsible, 19 cases (20%) were referred for observation, 17 cases (18%) were assessed as not criminally responsible, and 5 cases (5%) were evaluated as having diminished criminal responsibility. The distribution of psychiatric diagnoses, the nature of alleged offenses, and the criminal responsibility decisions among individuals evaluated in our clinic, which lacks inpatient psychiatric facilities and observation units, were found to be consistent with the findings of other studies conducted in Türkiye.

Key words: Forensic psychiatry, criminal responsibility, crime