Homicide defendants asserting the insanity defense make a volatile combination. Numerous studies review inmates with murder convictions, yet the literature is not rich regarding defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) for murder. This study analyzes 27 years of insanity acquittals in Missouri, finding significant differences between those defendants found NGRI for murder and those found NGRI for other crimes. The get-tough-on-crime initiatives found in the criminal justice system may have led to longer hospital stays post-1996 for NGRI murder acquittees, yet hospitalization lengths increased for all NGRI acquittees, a potential unintended consequence. Policy implications and future research directions are discussed.
AllisonP. D. (2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
3.
ArrigoB. A. (1996). The behavior of law and psychiatry: Rethinking knowledge construction and the guilty-but-mentally-ill verdict. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 23, 572-592.
4.
BaileyC. (2007, June8). Mary Winkler gets a week in prison, 60 days in mental health facility. The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved from http://www.commercialappeal.com
5.
BoehnertC. E. (1989). Characteristics of successful and unsuccessful insanity pleas. Law and Human Behavior, 13(1), 31-39.
6.
BrakelS. J. (1988). After the verdict: Dispositional decisions regarding criminal defendants acquitted by reason of insanity. DePaul Law Review, 37, 181-258.
7.
BreheneyC.GroscupJ.GaliettaM. (2007). Gender matters in the insanity defense. Law & Psychology Review, 31, 93-123.
8.
BumbyK. M. (1993). Reviewing the guilty but mentally ill alternative: A case of the blind “pleading” the blind. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 21, 191-220.
9.
CallahanL. A.McGreevyM. A.CirincioneC.SteadmanH. J. (1992). Measuring the effects of the guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) verdict. Law and Human Behavior, 16, 447-462.
10.
ChenE. Y. (2008). Impacts of “three strikes and you’re out” on crime trends in California and throughout the United States. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 24, 345-370.
11.
CirincioneC.SteadmanH. J.McGreevyM. A. (1995). Rates of insanity acquittals and the factors associated with successful insanity pleas. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry Law, 23, 399-409.
Dirks-LinhorstP. A.LinhorstD. M. (1994). Developing and implementing a statewide plan for forensic services. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 21, 531-535.
14.
Dirks-LinhorstP. A.LinhorstD. M. (2006). A description of the design and costs of an insanity acquittee conditional release, monitoring and revocation system. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 5(1), 55-65.
15.
DuhartD. T. (2000). Urban, suburban, and rural victimization, 1993-1998. (NCJ 182031). Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
16.
EschholzS.ReedM. D.BeckE.LeonardP. B. (2003). Offenders’ family members’ responses to capital crimes: The need for restorative justice initiatives. Homicide Studies, 7, 154-181.
17.
FoxJ. A.ZawitzM. W. (2006). Homicide trends in the United States. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
18.
FoxJ. A.ZawitzM. W. (2007). Homicide trends in the United State. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
19.
Fox-WasylyshynS. M.El-MasriM. M. (2005). Handling missing data in self-report measures. Research in Nursing and Health, 28, 488-495.
20.
GlazeL. E. (2010). Correctional populations in the United States, 2009. (NCJ 231681). Washington, DC: U. S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
21.
GranaS. J. (2002). Women and (in)justice: The criminal and civil effects of the common law on women’s lives. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
22.
GreenfeldL. A.SnellT. L. (1999). Women offenders (NCJ No. 175688). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
23.
GrossB. (2008). Mandatory minimums: Tipping the scales of justice. Forensic Examiner, 17(3), 64-69.
24.
HodginsS.HebertJ.BaraldiR. (1986). Women declared insanity: A follow-up study. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 8, 203-216.
25.
IrelandC. S.PrauseJ. (2005). Discretionary parole release: Length of imprisonment, percent of sentence served, and recidivism. Journal of Crime and Justice, 28(2), 27-49.
26.
IsserN. K.SchwartzL. L. (2008). Engendered homicide. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 36, 577-607.
27.
JacobsonM. (2006). Reversing the punitive turn: The limits and promise of current research. Criminology & Public Policy, 5, 277-284.
28.
JonesT.NewburnT. (2006). Three strikes and you’re out: Exploring symbol and substance in American and British crime control politics. British Journal of Criminology, 46, 781-802.
29.
KovandzicT. V.SloanJ. J.VieraitisL. M. (2004). “Striking out” as crime reduction policy: The impact of “three strikes” laws on crime rates in U.S. cities. Justice Quarterly, 21, 207-239.
30.
KrivoL. J.PetersonR. D. (2000). The structural context of homicide: Accounting for racial differences in process. American Sociological Review, 65, 547-559.
31.
LinhorstD. M. (1997). The impact of system design on the characteristics of Missouri’s insanity acquittees. Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 25, 509-529.
32.
LinhorstD. M. (1999). The unconditional release of mentally ill offenders from indefinite commitment: A study of Missouri insanity acquittees. Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 27, 563-579.
33.
LinhorstD. M.Dirks-LinhorstP. A. (1997). The impact of insanity acquittees on Missouri’s public mental health system. Law and Human Behavior, 21, 327-338.
34.
LinhorstD. M.Dirks-LinhorstP. A. (1999). A critical assessment of disposition options for mentally ill offenders. Social Service Review, 73(1), 65-81.
35.
McKinnonJ. (2001). The black population: 2000 (Census 2000 Brief, Series C2KBR/01-5). Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau.
36.
MelvilleJ. D.NaimarkD. (2002). Punishing the insane: The verdict of guilty but mentally ill. Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 30, 553-555.
37.
Missouri Department of Corrections. (2005, February23). A profile of the institutional population on June 30, 2004. Jefferson City, MO: Author.
38.
Missouri Department of Corrections. (2007, April3). A profile of the institutional and supervised offender population on June 30, 2006. Jefferson City, MO: Author.
39.
Missouri Department of Corrections. (2010, December30). A profile of the institutional and supervised offender population on June 30, 2010. Jefferson City, MO: Author.
40.
NestorP. G.HaycockJ. (1997). Not guilty by reason of insanity of murder: Clinical and Neuropsychological characteristics. Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 25, 161-171.
PalmerC. A.HazelriggM. (2000). The guilty but mentally ill verdict: A review and conceptual analysis of intent and impact. Journal of American Academy of Psychiatry and Law, 28(1), 47-54.
43.
PasewarkR. A.McGinleyH. (1985). Insanity plea: National survey of frequency and success. Journal of Psychiatry & Law, 13, 101-108.
44.
PerlinM. L. (1994). The insanity defense: Deconstructing the myths and reconstructing the jurisprudence. In SalesB. D.ShumanD. W. (Eds.), Law, mental health, and mental disorder. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
45.
PerlinM. L. (2000). The insanity defense. In The hidden prejudice: Mental disability on trial (pp. 223-243). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
46.
PerlinM. L.DorfmanD. A. (1993). Sanism, social science, and the development of mental disability law jurisprudence. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 11, 47-66.
47.
PhillipsJ. A. (1997). Variation in African-American homicide rates: An assessment of potential explanations. Criminology, 35, 527-559.
48.
Revised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 552 (2009).
49.
Revised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 556 (2009).
50.
Revised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 630 (2009).
51.
Revised Statutes of Missouri, Chapter 632 (2009).
52.
RiedelM.RegoecziW. C. (2004). Missing data in homicide research. Homicide Studies, 8, 163-192.
53.
RobertsJ. V. (1996). Public opinion, criminal record, and the sentencing process. American Behavioral Scientist, 39, 488-499.
54.
RobertsJ. V.StalansL. J. (2004). Restorative sentencing: Exploring the views of the public. Social Justice Research, 17, 315-334.
55.
RothP. L.SwitzerF. S.SwitzerD. M. (1999). Missing data in multiple item scales: A Monte Carlo analysis of missing data techniques. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 211-232.
56.
RottmanD.StricklandS. M. (2006). State court organization, 2004 (NCJ 212351). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
57.
SaundersJ. A.Morrow-HowellN.SpitznagelE.DoreP.ProctorE. K.PescarinoR. (2006). Imputing missing data: A comparison of methods for social work researchers. Social Work Research, 30(1), 19-31.
58.
SilverE. (1995). Punishment or treatment? Comparing the lengths of confinement of successful and unsuccessful insanity defendants. Law and Human Behavior, 19, 375-388.
59.
SilverE.CirincioneC.SteadmanH. J. (1994). Demythologizing inaccurate perceptions of the insanity defense. Law and Human Behavior, 18(1), 63-70.
60.
SkipworthJ. (2005). Rehabilitation in forensic psychiatry: Punishment or treatment?Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 16(1), 70-84.
StackS.CaoL.AdamzyckA. (2007). Crime volume and law and order culture. Justice Quarterly, 24, 291-308.
63.
SteadmanH. J.McGreevyM. A.MorrisseyJ. P.CallahanL. A.RobbinsP. C.CirincioneC. (1993). Before and after Hinckley: Evaluating insanity defense reform. New York, NY: Guilford.
64.
SteadmanH. J.MonahanJ.HartstoneE.DavisS. K.RobbinsP. C. (1982). Mentally disordered offenders: A national survey of patients and facilities. Law and Human Behavior, 6, 31-38.
65.
StolzenbergL.D’AlessioS. J. (1997). “Three strikes and you’re out”: The impact of California’s new mandatory sentencing law on serious crime rates. Crime & Delinquency, 43, 457-469.
WestH. C.SabolW. J.GreenmanS. J. (2010). Prisoners in 2009 (NCJ No. 231675). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics.
69.
YoungV. D.ReviereR. (2006). Women behind bars: Gender and race in U.S. prisons. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
