Objectives: The aim of the present study was to examine the factors leading to murder in females convicted of this crime. Method: In this qualitative research, a deep interview was carried out with 19 female murder convicts in Isfahan Central Prison, during which factors such as childhood and familial conditions, marriage, personal and familial features of the spouse, and motivations for murder were discussed. By coding the interviews and classifying similar codes together, three principal groups resulted: “factors related to the murderer”, “factors related to the victim”, and “factors related to murder”. Results: The convicts belonged mainly to suburban and rural areas, and crowded families of low education and income. Most subjects had only passed the elementary years of school, and except for one case, none had a history of crime and imprisonment before committing the present crime. Also, a history of a major psychiatric disorder, antisocial and promiscuous behavior, aggression, and addiction before marriage was not present in any of the cases. Major motivations of murder included personal factors related to the victim and domestic problems after marriage. In most cases, the murder victim had been an aggressive individual, with a history of severe physical, sexual and psychological abuse toward his spouse, addiction, history of extramarital relations, encouraging or threatening women to make an earning through illicit means, unemployment, and improper financial status. Conclusion: Unsuitable marriage can lead to detrimental individual, familial and social consequences.
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