Legal Reasoning and Standards for Judging the Criminal Responsibility of Mentally Disordered Offenders

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 223-243
Author(s):  
Seok-soon Im ◽  
Jin Yu
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Legal Reasoning ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered

Forensic psychiatry

2019 ◽  
pp. 721-784
Author(s):  
David Semple ◽  
Roger Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Forensic Psychiatry ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Sexual Offences ◽  
Mentally Disordered ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Court Liaison

Covering the role of the psychiatrist in forensic situations, from participation in the criminal justice system and legal definitions of crime (including homicide, violence, and sexual offences) to the relationship between mental disorders and offending, this chapter addresses secure hospitals and units, police and court liaison, and the role of the prison psychiatry. Legal provisions and how to give evidence in court are described, and an overview of pathways through the criminal health and justice system for mentally disordered offenders is provided. Fitness to plead and criminal responsibility are both explained.

scholarly journals Criminal Responsibility Scale: Development and Validation of a Psychometric Tool Structured in Clinical Vignettes for Criminal Responsibility Assessments in Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo Fernandez Meyer ◽  
Cláudia Cristina Studart Leal ◽  
Alexandre de Almeida Souza Omena ◽  
Katia Mecler ◽  
Alexandre Martins Valença
Keyword(s):  
Rating Scale ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Youden Index ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Medical Institute ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered ◽  
Clinical Vignettes ◽  
Psychometric Tool ◽  
Responsibility Scale

Criminal responsibility assessment is undertaken by psychologists or psychiatrists to assess offenders' legal capacities, which vary among countries or regional legislations. There are two psychometric tools (i.e., checklists) validated for criminal responsibility assessment: the Roger Criminal Responsibility Scale, and the rating scale of criminal responsibility for mentally disordered offenders. Despite the existence of psychometric tools structured in clinical vignettes for evaluating legal capacities, none serve the purpose of assessing criminal responsibility. This study aims to validate a novel psychometric tool structured in vignettes for the assessment of criminal responsibility called the “Criminal Responsibility Scale.” We applied the tool to 88 defendants referred for criminal responsibility assessment in a forensic medical institute in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from December 2017 to December 2018. The validity of the Criminal Responsibility Scale and subscales were evaluated using confirmatory factor analysis. The two-factor solution proved satisfactory and met the needs for practical application of the tool (Kaiser–Meyer–Oklin = 0.82; p < 0.001). Moreover, the inter-rater reliability was evaluated by comparing the tool's final score with that of the expert's conclusion in each case and was found to be satisfactory (k = 0.667–1.0), with a resulting cutoff point of 30.50 (±2) and a Youden index of 0.509. Hence, the Criminal Responsibility Scale is an effective psychometric tool for assessments of criminal responsibility that may encourage future research in assessments of legal capacity with clinical vignette-based psychometric instruments.

Legal frameworks and key concepts regulating diversion and treatment of mentally disordered offenders in european union member states

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 427-432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Dressing ◽  
Hans Joachim Salize ◽  
Harvey Gordon
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Mentally Ill ◽  
Criminal Responsibility ◽  
Mentally Ill Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Member States ◽  
Mentally Disordered ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
European Union Member States

AbstractBackgroundThere is only limited research on the various legal regulations governing assessment, placement and treatment of mentally ill offenders in European Union member states (EU-member states).AimsTo provide a structured description and cross-boundary comparison of legal frameworks regulating diversion and treatment of mentally disordered offenders in EU-member states before the extension in May 2004. A special focus is on the concept of criminal responsibility.Methodinformation on legislation and practice concerning the assessment, placement and treatment of mentally ill offenders was gathered by means of a detailed, structured questionnaire which was filled in by national experts.ResultsThe legal regulations relevant for forensic psychiatry in EU-member states are outlined. Definitions of mental disorders given within these acts are introduced and compared with ICD-10 diagnoses. Finally the application of the concept of criminal responsibility by the law and in routine practice is presented.ConclusionLegal frameworks for the processing and placement of mentally disordered offenders varied markedly across EU-member states. Since May 2004 the European Union has expanded to 25 member states and in January 2007 it will reach 27. With increasing mobility across Europe, the need for increasing trans-national co-operation is becoming apparent in which great variation in legal tradition pertains.

Mentally disordered offenders: A national survey of patients and facilities.

1982 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry J. Steadman ◽  
John Monahan ◽  
Eliot Hartstone ◽  
Sharon Kantorowski Davis ◽  
Pamela Clark Robbins
Keyword(s):  
National Survey ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered

The Antisocial Personality Questionnaire: An Inventory for Assessing Personality Deviation in Offender Populations1 * An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Fifth European Conference on Law and Psychology, Budapest, Hungary, August 1995.

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Blackburn ◽  
Diane Fawcett
Keyword(s):  
Personality Disorder ◽  
Social Withdrawal ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Criminal Career ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Personality Questionnaire ◽  
Antisocial Personality ◽  
Mentally Disordered Offenders ◽  
Mentally Disordered

Summary: The development is described of the Antisocial Personality Questionnaire (APQ), a short multitrait, self-report inventory that measures intrapersonal and interpersonal dispositions of relevance to antisocial populations. Scales were generated through factor analysis of an item pool adapted from the MMPI, Buss-Durkee Hostility Inventory, and a self-report scale of Psychopathy, using samples of male mentally disordered offenders (N = 499) and male volunteer nonoffenders (N = 238). Eight factors extracted were identified as Self-Control, Self-Esteem, Avoidance, Paranoid Suspicion, Resentment, Aggression, Deviance, and Extraversion. Short scales constructed to measure these have satisfactory reliability (α), and correlations with measures of personality disorder, observer ratings of interpersonal style, and criminal career data support their construct validity. Scale intercorrelations yield two higher-order dimensions of hostile impulsivity and social withdrawal that reflect orientations towards others and the self, respectively. The APQ provides comprehensive coverage of the deviant traits implicated in personality disorder and antisocial behavior, and appears to tap three of the Big Five personality dimensions (Neuroticism, Extraversion and Agreeableness). The questionnaire has satisfactory psychometric properties and can aid research and intervention with offenders.

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