Insanity is a legal term of art that changes definitions depending on the legal standard in American jurisprudence, which explains why a man who mental health professionals described as having an uncontrollable obsession with killing people can be found not insane and guilty. This Note addresses the current state of the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 and its widespread implementation at the state level. Part II supplies background information on the history of the insanity defense and how it has transformed over the years in American jurisprudence. Part III provides an analysis of the of the insanity defense. Part IV suggests a new standard of for the insanity defense with a more accommodating application to a wider degree of mental diseases.
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Psychiatric clinical diagnostic formulation has evolved over time. The changes alter our understanding and our ability to provide a public health perspective on the epidemiology of mental disorders in large populations. Epidemiology is an important perspective and set of tools to assess prevalence, treated prevalence, untreated prevalence, individual risks for mental disorders, and possible links to the etiology of disorders by following the trails of environmental exposures, biological measures, interpersonal dynamics, and genetic risk factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Forensic Sci
November 2024
Expertise Department of Observation, Council of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, Kımız Sok., 1, Istanbul, 34196, Turkey.
Filicide is the act of a parent killing their own offspring. Previous studies indicate that there are both commonalities and distinctions between filicides committed by mothers and fathers. The main objective of this study was to compare maternal and paternal filicide with a major focus on clinical and sociodemographic features of perpetrators, incident details, and victims.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Forensic Sci
November 2024
Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Self-induced extreme intoxication akin to automatism (SIEA) is a complicated and controversial legal concept resistant to jurisdictional consensus. In the United States, SIEA has, at times, been considered under the concept of "settled insanity.".
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Forensic Sci
September 2024
Department of Psychiatry, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Pathological dissociation is relatively common in the United States and may be associated with violent or criminal behavior. Dissociative Disorders, especially Dissociative Identity Disorder, are considered controversial diagnoses by some in the psychiatric and legal professions. Individuals who offend during dissociative states may not be criminally responsible if they meet the legal standard for insanity, however, insanity pleas based on dissociative symptoms are rare.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Law Psychiatry
June 2024
Department of Clinical Health Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The number of women involved with forensic mental health systems internationally is rising, however, limited research has explored the characteristics of those assessed for criminal responsibility. We investigated the demographic, psychiatric, and criminological characteristics of women recommended as eligible or ineligible for the defence of Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) on account of mental disorder following a criminal responsibility assessment in Central Canada. Data were collected through retrospective chart reviews of court-ordered criminal responsibility assessments for 109 women referred for evaluations between 2003 and 2019.
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