The insanity defense: Related issues

The military insanity defense.

This article describes the military insanity defense. The success of the litigated insanity defense is explored through the number of insanity acquittals over a 28-month period. A questionnaire distributed to all United States Army psychiatrists provided information on the number of forensic evaluations performed, the number of not criminally responsible (NCR) opinions made, and the disposition...

The insanity defense, continued.

To find a person not guilty by reason of insanity in Texas, it must be shown that at the time of the crime the person did not know the difference between right and wrong. This standard, applied in many other states, is a crude measure for something that cries out for subtlety. It is the reason that Andrea Yates was recently found guilty of murder, even though she was clearly, and by all account...

The Insanity Defense: Asking and

The authors address the main questions in the insanity defense debate: Should it be abolished? Should psychiatrists participate as expert witnesses? Is the profession damaged by such testimony? Is there a logical leap between providing psychiatric findings and providing an opinion to the ultimate question? Because the free will/determinism model underlying the current insanity defense positions...

Insanity Defense Evaluations

The insanity defense has been described as a symbol of the relationship between law and psychiatry (Stone, 1984b). As such, it has always been the subject of intense legal and public scrutiny, despite the fact that it is infrequently raised and seldom successful. Forensic psychiatrists are often depended upon by the criminal justice system to provide these evaluations, which require a high degr...

Excusing the Crazy: The Insanity Defense Reconsidered