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Jurisprudence of the Insanity Defense

NCJ Number
155430
Author(s)
M L Perlin
Date Published
1994
Length
467 pages
Annotation
The insanity defense is analyzed from both medical and legal perspectives, and measures are recommended to make the outcomes of insanity defense jurisprudence both comprehensible and fair.
Abstract
Arguing for the need for the insanity defense, the discussion uses the perspectives of empirical research, moral philosophy, cognitive and moral psychology, sociology, communications theory, and political science. It demonstrates how the Hinckley trial served as a paradigm through which to understand the reasons for public outrage regarding the defense and the subsequent legislative reforms. The discussion also traces the development of substantive insanity defense doctrine, analyzes the reasons for the rejection of psychodynamic principles, discusses the empirical myths and social meta-myths on the issue, and explores new jurisprudential explanations. The doctrine of therapeutic jurisprudence is recommended as a methodology to reconstruct insanity defense doctrine, and recommendations are provided for policymakers, the media, behavioral researchers, defense attorneys, prosecutors, witnesses, and scholars. Footnotes and index

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