About this time last year, I wrote a column called Dead Man Walking. The piece was in response to the increasing number of homicides that had occurred, and an attempt to see just who these people were that were being killed. It was not a scientific study on victimology by a long stretch, but more of just a curiosity to see if there were any commonalities among those who had fallen victim to a homicidal incident. In a short recap, we found that the commonalities were startling. The prime target last year proved to be Hispanic males in their early twenties who were killed by a firearm, and the majority of the deaths occurred in the Norcross corridor.

So, one year later, how much have the numbers changed? While they were some changes, for the most part the targets of homicides that have occurred since then are much the same. We looked at a time period from December of 2006 until February of 2007, in which 57 homicides were reported. Of those reported homicides, the most common victim was once again a Hispanic male. But while Hispanic males recorded the highest number again, African-American males held a very close second. The average age of the victim changed a bit, increasing from the mid-twenties last year to approximately thirty-one this year. Once again, the leading cause of death was due to a firearm. And once again, the most common area of occurrence for these homicides was the Norcross corridor. There was one significant change, however, as to the motive or cause of death for these most recent cases. Last year, the average death occurred as a consequence of a felony crime being committed, such as a drug deal, robbery related, or home invasion type incident. In other words, the deaths occurred based on a sudden act of violence that had been precipitated by an illegal act. While many of the cases this year followed that trait, another classification came into view that clearly has worked its way into a primary motive for these cases.

Domestic violence cases jumped significantly this year as compared to last. Of the recorded homicides, twenty of them had some level of domestic violence which led to the death of the victim. Of these deaths, the domestic disturbances spanned the board concerning the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. They involved husband and wife relationships, neighbor to neighbor relationships, and some general acquaintance relationships. At any rate, the level of violence that occurs between a perpetrator and a victim who know each other is on the upswing, and at quite an alarming rate. While this increase is obviously worth noting, it seems to be the trend on a national level as well, with domestic violence cases having increased in most areas of the country.

Another factor that we took into perspective this year was whether or not the victim of these homicides had any previous involvement, as a former victim, in the criminal justice judicial system. Of the mentioned time period for these victims, we found that five of these victims had been a defendant in prior cases, but only three of the victims had been recorded as previous victims in unrelated incidents. So, the theory that victims commonly continue to put themselves in places that allow them to be victimized did not prove to be true in these cases. In fact, the majority of these victims were first time victims according to the available data.

It is also important to mention that in this observation of data, suicides were not included unless it was a case of homicide suicide.

So, one year later, what have we learned about who is being killed in our communities? We have learned that it is basically the same type of people as it was last year. With a small exception to race, and a larger exception as to motive or cause, most things remain the same. So, if you are a Hispanic male, approximately 31 years of age, and you just happen to be in the Norcross corridor, and especially if you have been feuding with a close relation, it might be very beneficial for you to keep looking over your shoulder.

You may be, in fact, a dead man walking!