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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Rates of insanity acquittals and the factors associated with successful insanity pleas.

The frequency of use of the insanity plea, the probability of being acquitted by reason of insanity given the plea has been used, and the overall volume of insanity acquittees was determined for seven states. Across the seven states, there was an inverse relationship (r = -.67) between the frequency of use and the likelihood of success. As a result, the overall volume of insanity acquittees was stable. Based upon a sample of 8,138 people indicted for a felony and who raised an insanity plea at some point during the processing of their cases, the characteristics of insanity defendants and their cases differed by state, and a number of these characteristics, particularly diagnosis and type of crime were related to the likelihood of an insanity acquittal. The inverse relationship between the plea and success rates was at least partially explained by the differences in the composition of the cases. States with high plea rates tended to have a higher proportion of cases that involved defendants who were unlikely to succeed. States with lower plea rates tended to have higher proportions of cases that involved defendants who were likely to succeed.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Guilty but insane: the insanity defence in Ireland, 1850-1995.

BACKGROUND: This is a retrospective study describing sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of an almost complete sample of insanity acquittees in Ireland between 1850-1995. METHOD: Case records and legal files were examined for each of the 437 patients admitted to the Central Mental Hospital under guilty but insane criteria, and a profile of sociodemographic, forensic and clinical data completed in each. RESULTS: The number of insanity acquittees has fallen five-fold since the 19th century. Acquittees were usually single males from rural areas, aged in their 30s, who had committed a violent crime while suffering from a major psychiatric illness. Female insanity acquittees were relatively few in number and were equally likely to have been charged with violent crime, especially against their own children. The mean length of detention was 14.5 years. CONCLUSIONS: The insanity defence is rarely used in Ireland, is largely confined to serious offences (especially homicide), and generally results in prolonged detention.

Crime↗
PubMed1988

Insanity plea: predicting not guilty by reason of insanity adjudications.

Using 35 variables and discriminant analysis procedures, it was found that, of 133 male defendants entering the insanity plea in Colorado, 87 percent were classified correctly into the disposition groups "adjudicated insane" and "convicted." Most positively related to an insanity adjudication were a psychiatric evaluation of insanity and a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Negatively related to the insanity verdict were diagnoses of substance use and personality disorders.

Colorado↗
PubMed1986

When it pays to be insane: three unusual legacies of insanity.

Although the law generally does not permit an individual to profit by his own wrongdoing, that equitable principle may be inapplicable in the case of an individual who has been adjudicated insane (and therefore has not committed a wrong in the eyes of the law). This paper discusses three unusual legacies of a determination of insanity: the inheritance cases (permitting the insane killer to inherit from his own victim), the life insurance cases (permitting the beneficiary to recover when the insured commits suicide while insane), and the effect of insanity on publication rights agreements in sensational criminal cases.

Forensic Psychiatry↗
PubMed1989

Maintenance of an insanity defense under Montana's "abolition" of the insanity defense.

In 1979, Montana's insanity defense was replaced with the more restrictive mens rea defense, a change that has been described as an example of "abolition" of the insanity defense. The authors identified cases in which mental health was an issue in seven Montana counties for 3 years before and 3 years after the 1979 reform. They found that acquittals based on the insanity plea markedly declined, but that dismissals based on incompetence to stand trial increased substantially following the reform. They conclude that dismissal based on incompetence to stand trial became a substitute for acquittal based on the insanity plea under mens rea.

Forensic Psychiatry↗
PubMed1992

Was it murder or insanity? Reactions to a successful paroxysmal insanity plea in 1865.

This 1865 Harris/Burroughs trial marked the first time that the paroxysmal [temporary] insanity plea was supported by expert medical testimony in a U.S. courtroom. Jurors agreed that the female defendant was insane at the time of the shooting due to being "crossed in love and suffering from painful dysmenorrhea." Attitudinal stances of the legal system, health professionals, newspapers and the public are illustrated. By merely changing the antebellum language, the reactions could be recycled into our current tabloid newspapers and titillating TV programs as if the tragedy occurred yesterday.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1963

INSANITY AND CRIMINAL OFFENDERS. SOME COMMENTS ON THE REPORT OF GOVERNOR'S SPECIAL COMMISSIONS ON INSANITY AND CRIMINAL OFFENDERS.

The definition proposed by the Commissions on Insanity and Criminal Offenders for determining criminal responsibility will not resolve the issue between offenders who are considered blameworthy and regarded as criminals and those who are not. No formula is satisfactory for differentiating responsibility and irresponsibility. Determinism, which is the fundamental tenet of all science, is violated by the assumption that an individual can wilfully elect to commit an act which, in fact, is the result of causal antecedents. This concept is in conflict with the basic premise of criminal law that an individual is considered criminally responsible unless it can be proved to the contrary. Since it is unlikely that any proposal to abolish the concept of criminal responsibility would be even considered, it is suggested that no definition be used at all. Laws similar to those for the disposition of the mentally ill could be enacted, with emphasis not on the concept of criminal responsibility and moral blameworthiness but on the offender's dangerousness to others, the disposition then being planned to fit the offender rather than the offense.

California↗
PubMed1997

The impact of system design on the characteristics of Missouri's insanity acquittees.

This study describes the characteristics of Missouri insanity acquittees, which numbered 797 on July 1, 1992. Unlike reports of characterization data from other states, the study endeavors to link the characteristics to the design of Missouri's insanity acquittee system. This is accomplished by analyzing Missouri's insanity acquittee system and comparing it with the system designs and characteristics of insanity acquittees from other states. Overall, Missouri has a high number of annual insanity acquittals, inpatient hospitalization is used as the primary residential setting for insanity acquittees, most insanity acquittees have severe mental illnesses, the majority of insanity acquittees committed serious crimes, most insanity acquittees are hospitalized for extended periods of time, and insanity acquittees now occupy over 50 percent of Missouri's long-term public psychiatric hospital beds. Evidence did not exist for a linkage between the design of Missouri's insanity acquittee system and most of the insanity acquittee characteristics. Further research is needed to identify system designs that can shape insanity acquittee characteristics in intended ways, to assess the degree to which policy implementors may influence the policy implementation process, and to explore the role of symbolic politics in shaping insanity acquittee systems.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The negligible effects of California's 1982 reform of the insanity defense test.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine whether changing the insanity test in California in 1982 actually affected use of the insanity defense. METHOD: They gathered information on all individuals who entered the insanity plea (N = 1,300) and all those acquitted by reason of insanity (N = 665) in seven counties in California 3 years before and 3 years after the change in the test of insanity. They focused on whether California's revision of the insanity test affected the number and rate of insanity pleas, the number and rate of insanity acquittals, the characteristics of individuals using the defense, the target offenses, and the length of stay of insanity acquittees. RESULTS: The reform did not affect the rate of insanity pleas or acquittals, the characteristics of those using the defense, or their length of confinement. CONCLUSIONS: Although the reform had no direct effects on the use of the insanity defense, the authors hypothesize that an indirect change in criminal sentencing practices led to a decrease in the number and rate of insanity pleas and acquittals.

California↗