CHLH 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Irresistible Impulse, Mental Disorder, Insanity Defense
30 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
Intersections between mental health and legal and judicial systems. Critical judgements mental health professionals make about people accused of crimes. Criminal commitment people accused of crime are judged to be mentally unstable and are sent to mental institutions for treatment: two types of criminal commitment. Mentally unstable at time of crime not guilty by reason of insanity no criminal responsibility. Free will: biological predispositions, early life experiences, problematic thoughts. Our scientific knowledge about abnormal/criminal behavior is incomplete. The insanity defense allows dangerous criminals to escape punishment. Guilty but mentally ill: mental illness present at time crime was committed, incarcerated with expectation of treatment. Guilty with diminished capacity: due to mental health illness, individual did not intend to commit the crime, should be found guilty of a lesser crime. Men: with disorder = 4 times more likely to be incarcerated than men without disorder, 50 % can be diagnosed with mental disorder.
