NCJ Number
98471
Date Published
1983
Length
20 pages
Annotation
This case study of the June 1978 pretrial forensic evaluation of a man charged with violent sexual offenses in Maryland focuses on procedures to determine his competency to stand trial and his criminal responsibility (whether he was legally insane at the time he committed the crime).
Abstract
After briefly describing the two violent sex offenses charged to the suspect, R.R., the paper discusses an emergency evaluation performed as a consequence of R.R.'s symptomatic behavior observed by the jail staff during his pretrial detention. Guidelines are offered for conducting such an evaluation. A section then considers the evaluation of R.R.'s competency to stand trial, based upon his lawyer's request for such an evaluation. In addition to providing the specifics of how this evaluation was conducted, including the instruments used and the contents of the report sent to the court, principles for conducting such an evaluation are presented. The evaluation of R.R.'s criminal responsibility, i.e., whether or not he was legally insane at the time of the crime, is also described, based upon the American Law Institute (ALI) test for legal insanity. The general relationships between the insanity defense and sexual offenders within the parameters of the ALI test are explored. The diminished capacity defense is briefly discussed in the concluding section. A summary of guidelines for conducting forensic mental evaluations is provided. Thirty-four references are listed.