The impetus for the commission came from the public focus on the insanity defense brought about by the Hinckley trial following his assault on President Reagan. Commisson members included mental health professionals, a law professor, and others. Chairman Birch Bayh explained that the hearing aimed to broaden the debate on the insanity defense beyond the particulars of the Hinckley case and the proposed legislative alternatives to a focus on the adequacy of treatment in States which have statutes permitting verdicts of guilty but mentally ill, the costs of this treatment to individuals and society, and effects of these laws on the criminal justice system and crime. Speakers included the Director of the Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy of the University of Virginia; the Associate Attorney General of the United States; a former Judge Advocate General; the Director of the Center for Forensic Psychiatry for the State of Michigan; and a law professor. Subjects discussed included the advantages and disadvantages of abolishing the insanity defense, issues related to statutes permitting verdicts of guilty but mentally ill, the role of psychiatrists in trials, and the services provided to insanity acquittees who have committed acts of violence. Family members of mentally ill persons who committed murders of other family members also described their personal experiences. Some mentally ill offenders also testified.