Although psychiatric evaluations of juveniles charged with parricide have certain relevance in determining legal liability, the battered-child explanation for parricide is an extension of the self-defense doctrine that does not adequately convey the complex reality of this severe form of violence. The hypervigilance and sense of imminent danger associated with parricide may result more from emotional than physical abuse, and these states of mind are linked to concrete social relationships. The proposed sociological jurisprudence considers family disintegration, weakened moral values, drug abuse, and family violence and neglect as salient causes of parricide. Sociological jurisprudence goes beyond therapeutic jurisprudence in that it includes social and psychological influences on behavior. The sociological jurisprudence approach would provide treatment based on at least three perspectives, including medical, social, and psychological models; however, until a commitment is made to incorporate sociological jurisprudence, any treatment approach will be lacking. In those cases in which the juvenile is amenable to treatment, the program must be specific to targeting the causes of the violence and then offer alternatives to the youth. The challenge that awaits those who are responsible for these youths is to identify and isolate the factors that led these children to kill their parents. 61 references