Psychotic depression is a psychiatric syndrome characterized by pychomotor disturbance, depressive ruminations, perplexity, cognitive dysfunction, and mood-congruent delusions. Severe suffering led by the delusional state, as well as other features of the illness such as impaired reality testing and impulse control and poor judgment are likely to contribute to crimes associated with this syndrome. As compared to other psychotic states, psychotic depression is less frequently subject to criminal proceed-ings and as a consequence forensic psychiatric experience about these cases is relatively limited. This review focuses on criminal aspects of psychotic depression.