Incaprettamento: An Unusual Homicide by Ligature Strangulation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2013.02.2Keywords:
Incaprettamento, Ligature strangulation, Hog-tie, intra-ethnic homicideAbstract
This case study regards the murder of a Tunisian national residing in a small town in southern Italy who was murdered by fellow Tunisian citizen, also living in Italy. The victim was found hogtied and hanged by a cord that was suspended from an iron staff situated between two concrete electrical poles. This method of killing is known as "incaprettemento". It is an unusual type of strangulation whereby a rope is passed around the victim’s wrists, ankles, and throat causing suffocation. This results in a very slow and painful death. Typically, it is a method employed by Italian organized crime groups, but it has also been used in the execution of war crimes. This means of killing is meant to impart a particularly degrading and humiliating revenge on the victim. It may also serve as sign of intimidation and a warning to others. There is very little written about incaprettamento in the literature, but it has, nonetheless, important psychological, anthropological, and cultural implications in the field of criminology. The perpetrator underwent psychodiagnostic evaluations, and was ultimately deemed fit to stand trial.
References
Di Maria, Francesco; Lovanco, Gioacchino. 1995. Ad un passo dall’inferno, sentire mafioso ed obbedienza criminale Ed. Giunti, Firenze, Italia.
Catanesi, Roberto; Grattagliano Ignazio. 1997. Riflessioni sulla Criminalita' Organizzata in Puglia. Criminologia E Psicopatologia Forense, 1(2): pp. 43-56.
De Donno Antonio, Santoro Valeria., Rossi AnnaPaola, Grattagliano Ignazio, Introna, Francesco. 2009. Manners of Killing and Rituals in Apulian Mafia Murders. Journal Of Forensic Sciences, vol. 54, p. 895-899. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01068.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01068.x
Fineschi, Vittorio; Dell’Erba, Alessandro; Di Paolo, Mario; Procaccianti, Paolo. 1998. Typical Homicide Ritual of the
Italian Mafia, (Incaprettamento) The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 19(1): pp. 87-92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00000433-199803000-00017 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00000433-199803000-00017
Pollanen, Michael; Path, MRC. 2003. A variant of Incaprettamento (Ritual Ligature Strangulation) in East Timor The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 24(1): pp. 51-54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.PAF.0000050693.70683.97
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2013 International Journal of Criminology and Sociology
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Policy for Journals/Articles with Open Access
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work
Policy for Journals / Manuscript with Paid Access
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Publisher retain copyright .
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post links to their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work .
