From Homicide to Imprisonment: Mapping and Understanding the Flow of Homicide Cases

• Date: 01 August 2020
• Author: Marieke Liem,Manuel Eisner
• Published date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: 10.1177/1088767920917745
• Subject Matter: Special issue Introduction

https://doi.org/10.1177/1088767920917745

Homicide Studies

2020, Vol. 24(3) 207 –219

© 2020 SAGE Publications

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/1088767920917745

journals.sagepub.com/home/hsx

Special issue Introduction

From Homicide to

Imprisonment: Mapping and

Understanding the Flow of

Homicide Cases

Marieke Liem1 and Manuel Eisner2

Abstract

The likelihood that homicides lead to arrest, conviction, and incarceration of the

perpetrators varies widely across world regions. To date, we lack a comprehensive

framework that can explain the differences in how homicide cases are processed in

different jurisdictions, and how this knowledge can be used to hold perpetrators

to account, to advance the rule of law, and to promote equal access to justice.

This Special Issue seeks to advance the cross-national and comparative analysis of

homicide case flows, from suspicious death to imprisonment. In this Introduction, we

outline some analytic priorities that may help in moving the field forward.

Keywords

case linkage, methodology, comparative, clearance, policing, investigation, sentencing,

courts, exceptional clearance

Introduction

The likelihood that homicides lead to the arrest, conviction and, eventually, incarcera-

tion of the perpetrators varies widely across world regions. Worldwide, about 53 per-

sons are convicted for every 100 homicide victims according to estimates of the

UNODC Global Study on Homicide (United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs

[UNODC], 2019). At the same time, vast differences exist between countries and sub-

national units: In some states of Brazil and Mexico, for example, fewer than 10% of

1Universiteit Leiden, The Hague, The Netherlands

2University of Cambridge, UK

Corresponding Author:

Marieke Liem, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Universiteit Leiden, P.O. Box 13228, 2501 EE The

Hague, The Netherlands.

Email: m.c.a.liem@fgga.leidenuniv.nl

917745HSXXXX10.1177/1088767920917745Homicide StudiesLiem and Eisner

research-article2020