A comparison of individual-level data on 379 cases involving mentally disordered defendants with aggregate data on criminal sanctions for all defendants in a single jurisdiction provides the basis for a tentative conclusion that mentally disordered defendants may well be “twice-cursed.” The research findings indicate that compared to the general population of defendenats, mentally disordered defendants receive more severe criminal sanctions, and are often subjected to both punishment and mental health treatment ordered on the authority of the criminal court.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abramson, M. F. (1972). The criminalization of mentally disordered behavior: Possible side-effect of a new mental health law. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 4, 101.
2.
Bonovitz, J. C. , & Bonovitz, J. S. (1981). Diversion of the mentally ill into the criminal justice system: The police intervention perspective. American Journal of Psychiatry, 973.
3.
Bonovitz, J. C. , & Guy, E. (1979). Impact of restrictive civil commitment procedures on a prison psychiatric service. American Journal of Psychiatry, 136(1045).
4.
Chiswick, D. , Isaac, M. W., & McClintock, F. H. (1984). Prosecution of the mentally disturbed: Dilemmas of identification and discretion. Aberdeen, Great Britain: Aberdeen University Press.
5.
Cocozza, J. J. , Melick, M. E., & Steadman, H. J. (1978). Trends in violent crime among ex-mental patients. Criminology, 16(3117).
6.
Coie, J. S. , Constanzo, P. R., & Cox, G. (1975). Behavioral determinants of mental illness concerns: A comparison of “gatekeeper professions.”Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 43(626).
7.
Dickey, W. (1980). Incompetency and the nondangerous mentally ill client. Criminal Law Bulletin, 16(22).
8.
Geller, J. L. , & Lister, E. D. (1978). The process of criminal commitment for pretrial psychiatric examination: An evaluation. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1.
9.
Heininger, B. L. (1982). Incompetency to stand trial: As status, as label, and as potential source of sentencing disparity. Journal of Criminal Justice, 191.
10.
Kelitz, I. , & McGraw, B. D. (1983). An evaluation of involuntary civil commitment in Milwaukee County: Final report. Williamsburg, VA: National Center for State Courts, Institute on Mental Disability and the Law.
11.
Matthews, A. R. (1970). Observations on police and procedures for emergency detention of the mentally ill. Journal of Criminology, Criminal Law and Police Science, 283.
12.
McGarry, A. L. (1973). Competency to stand trial and mental illness. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
13.
Monahan, J. , Caldiera, C., & Friedlander, H. D. (1980). Police and the mentally ill: A comparison of committed and arrested persons. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 509.
14.
Roesch, R. , & Golding, S. L. (1979). Treatment and disposition of defendants found incompetent to stand trial: A review and a proposal. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 349.
15.
Rubin, L. C. , & Mills, M. J. (1983). Behavioral precipitants to civil commitment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 5.
16.
Sheridan, E. P. , & Teplin, L. A. (1981). Police-referred psychiatric emergencies: Advantages of community treatment. Journal of Community Psychology, 140.
17.
Steadman, H. J. (1979). Beating a rap? Defendants found incompetent to stand trial. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
18.
Steadman, H. J. , & Cocozza, J. J. (1974). Careers of the criminally insane. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
19.
Steadman, H. J. , Cocozza, J. J., & Melick, M. E. (1978). Explaining the increased arrest rate among mental patients: The changing clientele of state hospitals. American Journal of Psychiatry, 7.
20.
Steadman, H. J. , Monahan, J., Duffee, B., Hartsone, E., & Robbins, P. C. (1983, November). The impact of state mental hospital deinstitutionalization on United States prison populations, 1968-1978. Unpublished paper presented at American Society of Criminology.
21.
Steadman, H. J. , Vanderwyst, D., & Ribner, S. (1978). Comparing arrest rates of mental patients and criminal offenders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 1218.
22.
Teplin, L. A. (1983). The criminalization of the mentally ill: Speculation in search of date. Psychological Bulletin, 1, 54.
23.
Teplin, L. A. , Filstead, W., Hefter, G., & Sheridan, E. P. (1980). Police involvement with the psychiatric emergency patient. Psychiatric Annals, 5, 202.
