Chapter 16 | Law, Society, and the Mental Health Profession

What does forensic psychology specialize in?

psychology in the judicial system

What questions are asked during evaluation of a criminal?

• is the person competent to stand trial?

• are they capable of aiding their own defense?

• at the time the crime was committed, did they understand that it was wrong?

What do forensic psychologists do?

• give evaluations

• research the reliability of witnesses

• evaluate body language during trial

• give expert testimony

• criminal profiling

What is criminal commitment?

when someone is found competent enough to stand trial but still has some level of mental incapacitation

What does NGRI (not guilty by reasons of insanity) mean?

after the trial, it has been decided by a jury of your peers that you had no idea what you were doing at the time of the crime and therefore cannot be held responsible for it

True or false: insanity is a legal term and is not used in the DSM-IV

true

What does the legal concept of insanity address?

the question of whether a person was, at the time they committed a crime, criminally responsible

What does it mean to be criminally responsible?

a defendant’s crime was the product of both an action (or attempted action) and their intention to perform that action

What does the M’Naghten Test/Rule state?

a person is considered insane if, because of a “defect of reason, from disease of the mind,” they did not know what they were doing at the time of committing the act and didn’t know that it was wrong

How did the M’Naghten Test/Rule start?

in 1843, Daniel M’Naghten shot and killed the secretary to the British Prime Minister, and during trial, his defense argued that he couldn’t be held responsible because he was suffering from delusions of persecution at the time of the crime

What does the Irresistible Impulse Test state?

a person is considered insane if they knew what they were doing was wrong but nonetheless performed it because of an irresistible impulse

What does the Irresistible Impulse Test emphasize?

an inability to control one’s actions

What does the Durham Test state?

a person is considered insane if an irresistible impulse to perform a criminal behavior was due to a mental defect or disorder present at the time of the crime

What was the issue with the Durham Test?

it became too flexible, as it wasn’t clear what constituted a mental defect or disorder

What did the American Law Institute Test state?

a person is considered insane if a defendant either lacks a substantial capacity to appreciate that their behavior was wrong or has a diminished ability to make their behavior conform to the law

What two tests does the American Law Institute Test combine elements of?

the M’Naghten rule and Irresistible Impulse Test

What type of mental condition is the American Law Institute Test mostly limited to?

psychotic disorders

What did the American Law Institute Test prevent?

people from using antisocial personality disorder or use of illegal substances as the basis for an insanity defense

What type of crimes does the M’Naghten rule only apply to today?

federal

True or false: states are required to have an insanity law in place

false

What states does insanity law not exist in?

Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, Utah

What idea do all states have in place?

although someone may not be able to use their mental state as a defense, there are guidelines for sentencing based on whatever condition they may have

What disorder do 2/3 of all users of the insanity defense have?

schizophrenia

What percentage of users of the insanity defense are male?

86%

What is the average age of users of the insanity defense?

32

What percentage of users of the insanity defense committed violent crimes other than murder?

65%

What percentage of users of the insanity defense committed murder?

15%

What percentage of court cases try to use the insanity defense?

less than 1%

What are public concerns regarding the insanity defense?

• if the person commits a crime and doesn’t serve a punishment for it, where’s the justice in the legal system?

• if they’re not fit for standing trial, how are they fit to be in society?

• what if the person was able to fake insanity?

• if the person got away with their crime, what’s to stop them from doing it again?

What is a legal concern regarding the insanity defense?

what if someone found with mental incapacity receives treatment but isn’t let go?

What was ruled in Foucha v. Louisiana (1992)?

state institutions can no longer keep a patient if they are found to be sane again; someone can’t be incarcerated over the fear that they might do something

What does guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) mean?

the defendant is found guilty of a crime, but their mental illness is acknowledged, and they may be institutionalized

What must a jury be in order to understand the concept of guilty but mentally ill?

fairly educated

What do sex offenders have a high likelihood for?

violence being enacted against them due to their crimes

Why did sex offenders used to be separated from the rest of the prison population?

to protect them from other prisoners

True or false: sex offenders have a high rate of re-offense after being released, even if they’re a model prisoner

true

What does Megan’s law require?

that states make information about registered sex offenders available to the public, primarily to protect children from potential harm

Who was Megan’s law named after?

Megan Kanka, a victim of a sex offender who lived across the street from her family without their knowledge