Ardines Angelica M. Ardines Dr.

Guenzel ENC 1102- Section 0014 February 28, 2013 Research Dossier: Pleading Insanity in the Court System Dossier Introduction Pleading insanity refers to the defense a criminal might pursue when they claim that, at the moment they committed the crime, they were not mentally capable to make a distinction between right or wrong, or that they had poor mental health and therefore could not control their actions. There are two types of insanity pleascognitive and volitional. Cognitive insanity refers to the incapability of telling between right and wrong at the time the crime was committed. Volitional insanity refers to the defendants impulsive behavior due to poor mental health at the time the crime was committed. Insanity pleas vary from state to state. Most states allow defendants to plea cognitive insanity; few states allow defendants to plea volitional insanity, which is usually used when the defendant committed a vengeance crime. Furthermore, the insanity defense should not be confused with incompetency defense or mentally disable defense. These two last defenses are treated differently from insanity defenses in all states. The insanity defense is used when a judge considers it appropriatewhen the defendant has enough evidence to support the insanity plea. Once the defendant supplies the evidence needed (including expert testimony from psychologists and psychiatrists), the jury is then instructed to consider whether the defendant is to be spare of the punishment for insanity reasons. The defendant has to notify the prosecution of their intent to plea insanity. In some states the court will consider the insanity plea after a verdict of guilty or not guilty has been reached. In other states the insanity defense is consider when reaching the verdict. The role of pleading insanity in the court system has always been a controversial topic. Those who arent familiar with the court system believe that many people use it to get away with criminal behavior, or to lessen the punishment they would have to normally face for the crime committed. Yet, despite popular belief, pleading insanity in the court system is far trickier than it seems. Theres certain tests that have to be done, and expert opinion must be provided. Actually, research shows that most defendants choose not to use the insanity defense. But, how efficient are this tests? Can you truly tell, with certainty that someone is not faking to be insane? I will use the sources Ive gathered to shape my research paper in many ways. I will define the insanity defense. I will expand my knowledge on the history of the insanity defense, and see how it has affected todays view on it. I will get informed about common misconceptions held by the public, and see how these shape their opinions. Sources like Lilienfeld, S. O., & Arkowitz, H. (2010, December 23). The insanity verdict on trial, will help me understand how proponents of the insanity defense have built a strong base for their argument. By looking at the different statutes that states have to declare a person insane. Ill focus on the state of Florida to narrow down the rules or parameters, because these vary from state to state, but I will, nevertheless, mention certain differences among states. Ill figure out why is the insanity defense used so low and why most defendants opt not to use it. Ill do some research to determine how efficient the teststhat determine that a person is or was insane at

Ardines the time the crime was committedare. I will also explore popular beliefs and opinions on the insanity defense to see how these influence the jury when making a verdict. By analyzing the different court cases, Ill come up with a stance and support it with concrete evidence. Research Map What is the definition of insanity in the court system? Who exactly determines if a criminal is insane? How does the court system determine if a criminal is insane? What are the guidelines? How does it differ from the common definition of insanity?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

Insanity

Insanity in the court system

KEY WORDS: Forensic Psychology Psychology Criminal Psychology Internet Research TYPES OF RESEARCH: Library Research

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Timetable:
Date 02/05/2014 STA 2014C Exam 1 POS 2041 Exam 1 BSC 2010C None ENC 1102 Research Map due @ 12 p.m. Peer Review Library Course PSY 2023 None Personal FYAE: First Year Scholars Reception @ 3:30 p.m. None

02/07/2014

None

02/10/2014 02/11/2014 02/12/2014 02/13/2014 02/14/2014 02/19/2014 02/21/2014

02/24/2014

TBA Library None Visit Dentist Appointment @ 4:15 p.m. Interview @ 10:45 a.m. None Exam 2 None None Outlining the None research paper None Digital Paper None Trail due @ 12 p.m. None Module 6 None due @ 11:59 p.m. Exam 2 None Workshop Draft None Annotated Bibliography due @ 12 p.m. None Peer Review Final Draft Research Dossier due @11:59 p.m. Exam 3 None Aunt Amira visit from New York Trip to Disney! SPRING BREAK None Invention None None

EC Question due @ 10:30 a.m. None

None

02/26/2014

02/27/2014 02/28/2014 to 03/02/2014 03/03/2014 to 03/08/2014 03/10/2014

None

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03/14/2014 None Peer Review Module 7 due @ 11:59 p.m. None None Research paper: introduction None None None Peer Review Group Conference Group Conference Group Conference Group Conference Exam 5 None Peer Review None Module 10 due @ 11:59 p.m. None None Module 8 due @ 11:59 p.m. None None Module 9 due @ 11:59 p.m. None None None None None

03/24/2014 03/27/2014 None

None Exam 4 None

Invention: Public Service Announcement

03/28/2014 03/31/2014 04/02/2014 04/04/2014 Exam 3

None

04/07/2014 04/09/2014 04/10/2014 04/11/2014 None

None None

04/14/2014 04/16/2014 04/17/2014 04/18/2014 to 04/22/2014 04/23/2014 04/25/2014 04/28/2014 Exam 4 GEP Post Test due @ 11:59 p.m. None Final Exam None None

None None

Invention Reflection and Self-assessment Peer Review None

None

Research Presentations Final Exam None None None Final Exam Final Exam

None

None None

Final Exam

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Annotated Bibliography "Criminal insanity." The People's Law Dictionary. 2005. Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen T. Hill 30 Jan. 2014 http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Criminal+insanity This website offers a definition of the insanity defense. It explores the history, public opinion, consequences, and uses and abuses of the insanity defense. It clarifies myths that the public might hold true about the insanity defense. This website gathers information from a variety of sources. Some of the information might be biased, though most of it include only definitions and factual information. Cherry, K. (n.d.). Forensic psychology careers: A closer look at careers in forensic psychology. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologycareerprofiles/a/forensicpsych.htm This source explains the requirement one needs to meet to be a forensic psychologists. These are usually the people that evaluate criminals and tend to give their professional opinions on the insanity plea. The author, Kendra Cherry, has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and specializes in the advising of students pursuing a psychology major and those taking an introductory class to psychology. Daftary-Kapur, T., Groscup, J. L., O'Connor, M., Coffaro, F., & Galietta, M. (2011). Measuring knowledge of the insanity defense: Scale construction and validation. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 29(1), 40-63. doi:10.1002/bsl.938 This field study measures the knowledge of the insanity defense and how this knowledge influences juries and their decisions in cases where the defendant pleas insanity. It divides the scale into nine different categories and gives an explanation on each. The field study was part of an academic journal, Behavioral Sciences & the Law. There is some biased due to the type of study it is. For instance, the authors only surveyed people who had negative views on the insanity defense. Insanity defense FAQs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/crime/trial/faqs.html This website helped the public understand the difference between incompetency to stand trial and the insanity defense. It also answers common questions about the insanity defensehow successful is it, how often is it used, what are the legal standards, among others. PBS is a wellknown broadcasting company in the United States; it is one of Americas most trusted broadcasting companies. There is little to no bias in this article, for it presents factual information about the insanity defense. Insanity defense. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/insanity-defense.html This website offers factual information about the insanity defense. It offers background information (when was it first used), how courts test defendants, and state laws. FindLaw is a

Ardines website that offers free information about legal cases, to help the public with questions they might have. This particular article is not biased for it offers factual information. Janofsky, J. S., Vandewalle, M. B., & Rappeport, J. R. (1989). Defendants pleading insanity: An analysis of outcome. Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry & the Law, 17(2), 203-211. This field study observed a series of trial in Baltimore City over a period of twelve months. It then compared which case plead insanity. From those that plead insanity, it compared which ones were successful in their defense. It also compared the type of crimes to which the insanity defense was applied to. The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law publishes peer reviewed journals. The authors of the journals are experts on the field of forensic psychology. Lilienfeld, S. O., & Arkowitz, H. (2010, December 23). The insanity verdict on trial. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-insanity-verdict-on-trial/ This article talks about the insanity defense and its benefits. It uses controversial cases like the one involving Andrea Yates to support its argument. The authors of the article are biased, because even though they do present the opposing views, they still support the insanity defense. Scott O. Lilienfeld is a professor of psychology at Emory University. Hal Arkowitz has a PhD in Psychology. Louden, J., & Skeem, J. L. (2007). Constructing insanity: jurors' prototypes, attitudes, and legal decision-making. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 25(4), 449-470. doi:10.1002/bsl.760 This field study evaluates three prototypes jurors have about insanity defenses and the correlation they have with the jurors verdict. It also notes how to identify a biased juror and how to keep their decisions closer to the law, rather than their opinions. The field study was published in the scholarly journal Behavioral Sciences and the Law. The authors keep from giving biased information. Martin, J. P. (1998, February 27). The insanity defense: A closer look. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/aron/qa227.htm This article gives some factual and historic information about the insanity defense. It answers frequently asked questions about the insanity defense. The article was published in the Washington Post. Although the author presents factual and historical information, theres still some biased towards the positive side of the insanity defense. McLellan, F. (2006). Mental health and justice: the case of Andrea Yates: former nurse Andrea Yates, whose postnatal mental illness led her to drown her five children, had her life sentence overturned at a retrial earlier this year, after successfully pleading insanity. Faith McLellan reviews the case and its implications for mental health in the criminal justice system. (World Report). The Lancet, 368(9551), 1951. This articles explores the case of Andrea Yates in more depth. It also shows how this particular case shaped the court system in relation to mental illness cases. The article was published in The Lancet, a medical journal that focuses on oncology, neurology, and infectious diseases.

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Pickel, K. L. (1998). The effects of motive information and crime unusualness on jurors' judgments in insanity cases. Law and Human Behavior, 22(5), 571-584. doi:10.1023/A:1025791530881 This field study looked at 371 mock jurors and observed how their verdicts were shaped by the kind of information they received from either the prosecution or the defense. This study was published in the scholarly journal, Law and Human Behavior.