Epilepsy and violence in mentally abnormal offenders in a maximum security mental hospital

Abstract

A retrospective study of the relationship between epilepsy and violence in mentally abnormal offenders is described. All patients were identified with a preadmission diagnosis of epilepsy who were in Broadmoor Hospital, a maximum security mental hospital for offenders in England, on November 17, 1992. The diagnosis of epilepsy in these patients, their violence ratings, and brain investigation findings were reviewed. Excluding those with neuroleptic-induced seizures, nonepileptic seizures, and equivocal episodic behaviours, the prevalence of epilepsy in Broadmoor Hospital was 2.7% (male) and 2% (female) in this study. This prevalence is lower than previous estimates. Patients with epilepsy were not different from patients without epilepsy in terms of their violence ratings. There was no obvious association between criminal behaviour and seizures in these patients with epilepsy, confirming previous findings. Careful assessment of offenders with a preadmission diagnosis of seizures in a maximum security hospital setting can help improve the diagnosis of epilepsy and avoid incorrect attribution of violence and offence to epilepsy.