A New Approach to Insanity Acquittee Recidivism: Redefining the Class of Truly Responsible Recidivists

After receiving verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity, John McGee and Ronald Manlen were committed to Michigan mental hospitals. The center for forensic psychiatry later determined that McGee and Manlen were “no longer mentally ill and dangerous” and released them. Shortly after being released, McGee kicked his wife to death and Manlen raped two women. The public outcry that followed these tragic events prompted the Michigan legislature to statutorily authorize the “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI) verdict in cases where a defendant raises the insanity defense. The verdict permits the jury to find that although the defendant is mentally ill, she is not legally insane, and she may be given a full criminal sentence. A defendant who receives a GBMI verdict must receive appropriate psychiatric treatment while imprisoned. Several other states, faced with similar high-profile crimes committed by released insanity acquittees, also adopted the GBMI ver-