Since the attempted assassination of President Reagan by John Hinckley, Jr., avid attention has again focused upon the supposed deficiencies and abuses of the insanity plea, and the nation has witnessed many attempts in various jurisdictions either to alter or to abolish the plea. Unfortunately, these efforts have been conducted within a context where little empirical data on the operation of the plea is available to guide policymakers. The present article represents an effort to summarize the information that is currently available concerning the frequency with which the plea is made, the characteristics of defendants involved, and the subsequent psychiatric and criminal histories of these individuals.
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References
1.
Henry J. Steadman and Jeraldine Braff, “Defendants Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity,” in Mentally Disordered Offenders: Perspectives from Law and Social Science, ed. John Monahan and Henry J. Steadman (New York: Plenum, 1983).
3. Nancy M. Burton and Henry J. Steadman, “Legal Professionals' Perceptions of the Insanity Defense,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 6:173-187 (1978).
4.
4. James L. Cavanaugh, Jr., Richard R. Rogers, and Bonnie Price, “The Insanity Defense in Illinois—A Psychiatric Perspective,”Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 8:59 (1980).
5.
Richard A. Pasewark , Deborah Seidenzahl, and Mark L. Pantle, “Opinions about the Insanity Plea,”Journal of Forensic Psychology, 8:63-72 (1981).
6.
6. Henry J. Steadman and Joseph J. Cocozza, “Selective Reporting and the Public's Misconceptions of the Criminally Insane,”Public Opinion Quarterly, 41:523-533 (1978).
7.
7. Richard A. Pasewark and Paul L. Craig, “Insanity Plea: Defense Attorneys' View,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 8:413-440 (1980).
8.
Saleem A. Shah , “Criminal Responsibility,” in Perspectives in Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, ed. W. J. Curran, A. L. McGarry, and S. A. Shah (Philadelphia: F. A. Davis, forthcoming).
9.
9. Richard W. Jeffrey and Richard A. Pasewark, “Altering Opinions about the Insanity Plea,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 11:29-40 (1983).
10.
Nigel Walker and Sarah McCabe, Crime and Insanity in England (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1973), vol. 2.
11.
Henry J. Steadmanet al. , “Mentally Disordered Offenders: A National Survey of Patients and Facilities,”Law and Human Behavior, 6:31-38 (1982).
12.
12. For a more recent survey of forensic facilities, see Charlotte A. Kerr and Jeffrey A. Roth, “Populations, Practices, and Problems in Forensic Psychiatric Facilities,” this issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
13.
13. Richard A. Pasewark and W. Hugh McGinley, “Insanity Plea: National Survey of Frequency and Success,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law (in press).
14.
for Wyoming, Richard A. Pasewark and Bruce W. Lanthorn, “Dispositions of Persons Utilizing the Insanity Plea in a Rural State,”Journal of Humanics, 5:87-98 (1977).
15.
Richard A. Pasewark and Robert L. Randolph, “Effects of Three Changes of Insanity Plea Statutes in Wyoming,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law (in press).
16.
16. Randolph and Pasewark, “Characteristics, Dispositions, and Subsequent Arrests.”
17.
17. See note 14 for studies dealing with each state.
18.
18. Henry J. Steadman, “Insanity Acquittals in New York State, 1965-1978,”American Journal of Psychiatry, 137:321-326 (1980).
19.
19. Petrila, “Insanity Defense and Other Mental Health Dispositions in Missouri.”
20.
20. See references cited for the particular states in note 14.
21.
21. Michael Hawkins and Richard A. Pasewark, “Characteristics of Persons Utilizing the Insanity Plea,”Psychological Reports, 53:191-195 (1983).
22.
22. Ibid.
23.
23. William R. Morrow and Donald B. Peterson, “Follow-up of Discharged Offenders—`Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity' and `Criminal Sexual Psychopaths',”Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology and Police Science, 57:31-34 (1966).
24.
24. Hawkins and Pasewark, “Characteristics of Persons Utilizing the Insanity Plea.”
25.
25. For particular references for each state, see note 14.
26.
26. Ibid.
27.
27. Ibid.
28.
for Hawaii, see Richard A. Pase-wark and Howard Gudeman, “Insanity Plea in Hawaii” (in progress).
29.
for Ontario, Greenland, “Crime and the Insanity Defense.”
30.
and Criss and Racine, “Impact of Change in Legal Standards.”
31.
31. See note 14 for references for specific states.
32.
for Connecticut, see Phillips and Pasewark, “Insanity Plea in Connecticut.”
33.
33. Henry J. Steadmanet al., “Factors Associated with a Successful Insanity Defense,”American Journal of Psychiatry, 140:401-404 (1983).
34.
34. Richard Rogers, William Seman, and Jan Stampley, “A Study of Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Individuals Evaluated for Insanity,”National Journal of Offender Therapies and Comparative Criminology, 28:3-10 (1984).
35.
Helen E. Klein and Maurice K. Temerlin, “On Expert Testimony in Sanity Cases,”Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 149:435-438 (1969).
36.
36. Pasewark, “Insanity Plea: A Review of the Research.”
37.
37. Mark L. Pantle, Richard A. Pasewark, and Henry J. Steadman, “Comparing Institutionalization Periods and Subsequent Arrests of Insanity Acquittees and Convicted Felons,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 8:305-316 (1980).
38.
38. Richard A. Pasewark, Mark L. Pantle, and Henry J. Steadman, “Detention and Rearrest Rates of Persons Found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and Convicted Felons,”American Journal of Psychiatry, 139:892-897 (1982).
39.
39. Phillips and Pasewark, “Insanity Plea in Connecticut.”
40.
40. Cooke and Sikorski, “Factors Affecting Length of Hospitalization.”
41.
41. Henry J. Steadmanet al., “Hospitalization Length of Insanity Acquittees,”Journal of Clinical Psychology, 39:611-614 (1983).
42.
Singer , “Insanity Acquittal in the Seventies.”
43.
for Connecticut, see Phillips and Pasewark, “Insanity Plea in Conneticut.”
44.
44. Morrow and Peterson, “Follow-up of Discharged Offenders.”
45.
45. Spodak, Silver, and Wright, “Criminality of Discharged Insanity Acquittees,” p. 15 of manuscript.
46.
46. Richard A. Pasewarket al., “Criminal Recidivism among Insanity Acquittees,”International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 5:365-375 (1982).
47.
Pasewark , Pantle, and Steadman, “Detention and Rearrest Rates.”
48.
48. Phillips and Pasewark, “Insanity Plea in Connecticut.”
49.
49. Pasewarket al., “Criminal Recidivism among Insanity Acquittees.”
50.
50. Vernon L. Quinsey, Manfred Preusse, and Robert A. Fernley, “A Follow-up of Patients Found `Unfit to Stand Trial' or `Not Guilty Because of Insanity',”Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 20:461-467 (1975).
51.
51. Joseph Bloom, Jeffrey Rogers, and Spero M. Manson, “After Oregon's Insanity Defense: A Comparison of Conditional Release and Hospitalization,”International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 5:391-402 (1982).
52.
52. Ibid., p. 399.
53.
53. For further data on the Oregon system, see Jeffrey L. Rogers, Joseph D. Bloom, and Spero M. Manson, “Oregon's Psychiatric Security Review Board: A Comprehensive System for Managing Insanity Acquittees,” this issue of The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
54.
54. Richard A. Pasewark and Mark D. Pasewark, “Insanity Revised: Once More over the Cuckoo's Nest,”Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 6:481-498 (1978).
