Subjects included 5,247 inmates in about 3,700 institutions, of whom 292 were over 50 years old. Research variables related to sociodemographic characteristics, prior criminal history, employment history, and drinking behavior in the year prior to incarceration and immediately preceding the offense. Older violent offenders were likely to be nonwhite, unmarried, male, and sporadically employed or unemployed. They also were likely to have lower incomes and fewer dependents. Previous contact with the criminal justice system, drinking history, and drinking behavior before the offense are correlated with elderly offenders committing the most violent offenses. Overall, data indicate that offenses of the elderly are recidivist, drinking-related violent crimes: fully 59 percent of the offenders studied had previously been convicted of a violent crime in which alcohol was a factor. Finally, multiple regression analyses indicate that demographic, economic, and alcohol problems explain approximately one-fifth of the variance in violence of the crime. 58 references and 2 tables.