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Homicide Studies, Vol. 6, No. 2,
128-166 (2002)
© 2002 SAGE Publications
Murder and Medicine: The Lethality of Criminal Assault 1960-1999
Anthony R. Harris
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Stephen H. Thomas
Harvard Medical School
Gene A. Fisher
University of Massachusetts Amherst
David J. Hirsch
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Despite the proliferation of increasingly dangerous weapons and the very large increasein rates of serious criminal assault, since 1960, the lethality of such assault in the UnitedStates has dropped dramatically. This paradox has barely been studied and needs to beexamined using national time-series data. Starting from the basic view that homicidesare aggravated assaults with the outcome of the victim's death, we assembled evidencefrom national data sources to show that the principal explanation of the downward trendin lethality involves parallel developments in medical technology and related medicalsupport services that have suppressed the homicide rate compared to what it would be hadsuch progress not been made. We argue that research into the causes and deterrability ofhomicide would benefit from a "lethality perspective" that focuses on serious assaults,only a small proportion of which end in death.
Key Words: aggravated assault • lethal violence • medical care
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