Abstract The purpose of the study was to determine the causes of death as reported in court files of the female vic- tims of honour crimes, the Jordanian penal codes regard- ing crimes of honour, the evidence used in the sentencing of the defendants, the types of weapons used, the charac- teristics of the physical assaults on the victims and the sentencing of the offenders. A retrospective study of crimes of honour in Jordan was conducted, and the 16 homicide cases considered to be crimes of honour were reviewed. The autopsy reports of the victims provided information on the physical condition of the victims, including the type and severity of injuries. In over 60% of the honour crime cases, multiple gunshot wounds were the direct cause of death. In cases where the victim was a single pregnant fe- male, the offender was acquitted of murder or received a reduced sentence. The majority of murders were commit- ted by the brother of the victim and the length of sentence received by the offender varied from no sentence to life with hard labour. Offenders who received the harshest punishment were those whose victims married without the family consent. Keywords Honour crimes · Female homicide · Arab country Introduction Jordan, a small country with a population of 4 million, has one of the world’s lowest rates of female homicide. How- ever, despite the low reported rate of female homicide, crimes of honour appear to be a significant percentage of total female homicides. For the purpose of this paper, a crime of honour is defined as a violent assault on a woman by a male family member because of her alleged sexual misconduct. Crimes of honour are among the most com- mon crimes committed against women in certain areas of the world (e.g. Asia, Africa, Brazil, Melanesia, East Africa, India, Pakistan and the Middle East). In some Middle East countries, criminal law often pro- vides for leniency in the punishment of individuals con- victed of honour crimes. In Lebanon, the perpetrator of a crime of honour will be judged guilty, but may not be im- prisoned. In Israel, a murderer of a woman who engages in unlawful sexual relations may be released after 10– 12 years in prison (Ginat 1987). Laws concerning honour crimes differ in Middle East- ern countries. Islamic law or Sharia considers extra-mari- tal intercourse a crime, but the punishment for such acts is vague and subject to many interpretations. Punishment may vary from 100 lashes if the offenders are not Muhsan (free men or women) to stoning to death if the offenders are free men and women who are in a position to enjoy lawful marriage. Not all Arab countries follow the Sharia as it applies to extra-marital sexual acts. Some countries, such as Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt, apply elements of Ottoman, French or Italian law in the definition and prosecution of individuals committing crimes of honour (Abu Aude up- ublished dissertation). The Jordanian Penal Code no. 340 (1991) under the section “Excuse in Murder” states: “1. He who catches his wife, or one of his (female) relatives committing adultery with another, and kills, wounds, or injures one or both of them, is exempt from penalty. 2. He who catches his wife, or one of his (female) ascendants or descendants or sisters with another in an unlawful bed, and kills or wounds or injures one or both of them, benefits from reduction of penalty.” Article 98, often applied as a complementary article to Article 340, provides for psychological or mental grounds by which a defendant may be acquitted of murder. Article 98 of the Jordanian law (1991) states: “He who commits a crime in a fit of fury caused by an unrightful and danger- Mu’men Hadidi · Anahid Kulwicki · Hani Jahshan A review of 16 cases of honour killings in Jordan in 1995 Int J Legal Med (2001) 114 : 357–359 © Springer-Verlag 2001 Received: 26 January 1998 / Accepted: 3 May 2000 SHORT COMMUNICATION M. Hadidi () · H. Jahshan National Institute of Forensic Medicine, P.O.Box, 510727, Amman, Jordan Fax: +962-1-4785192 A. Kulwicki Oakland University, School of Nursing, Rochester, Michigan 48309, USA