Child abuse homicide convictions at 88%

In Utah, child abuse homicide offenders appear to be convicted at a rate similar to that of adult homicide offenders, researchers found. Dr. Hilary A. Hewes and colleagues of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City examined homicide data from the National Violent Death Reporting System in Utah for all deaths classified as homicides between January 2002 and December 2007 to compare the conviction rate and sentence severity between child abuse homicide offenders and adult homicide offenders. The authors identified 373 homicides in Utah during the study period, of which 52 cases, or 15.6 percent, were child abuse homicides. Under Utah law, child abuse homicide is when someone's abuse of a child under 18 years old results in the child's death Of the 52 cases, 34 were within Utah's jurisdiction and had a suspect identified. Suspects were found guilty in 30 of the 34 cases, for a conviction rate of 88.2 percent. Of 268 adult homicide cases included in the study, 135 cases had a suspect identified. Among these, 112 convictions, or 83 percent, were obtained. The study, published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found that in addition to the similar conviction rates for child abuse homicide and adult homicide, defendants were found guilty of similar levels of felonies and received similar punishment.