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The insanity plea: The uses and abuses of the insanity defense
98
CURRENT PUBLICATIONS ABSTRACTS
dilemmas and trade-offs inherent in policy selection is covered in the third analysis. In the final analysis, international hostage incidents are examined to test some of the propositions developed. Do the propositions match the theoretical framework, typologies, and actual terrorist events presented? A final chapter focuses on whether there is one optimal response to all acts of international terriorism. Tables and figures are listed. References, a selected bibliography, and an index complete the volume.
The Insanity Plea: The Uses and Abuses of the Insanity Defense by William J. Winslade and Judith Wilson Ross. Charles Schribner’s Sons (597 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10017), 1983, 226 pp., hardcover-$15.95. Winslade and Ross examine the contro“not guilty by reason of versial defense insanity.” Claiming that the insanity plea is indefensible, the authors present seven case histories to demonstrate their arguments. In these cases everyone knows that the defendant committed the crime. A psychiatrist, testifying as an expert witness, tries to help us understand the reasons behind those actions so that some degree of responsibility can be assessed of the defendant. Because an insanity plea establishes what the defendant’s state of mind was when he committed the crime, the authors argue that psychiatry does not have a scientific basis, such as forensic pathology, to discover human motives, intentions, or states of mind. They
further present information to demonstrate that the law and psychiatry are not philosophically compatible. An introductory chapter provides philosophical background about violence in the United States and commonly held opinions and beliefs about the insanity plea. Seven case presented in individual studies, chapters, illustrate the issues under consideration. The Dan White Case shows how psychiatrists play upon juror’s emotions by offering testimony that explains behavior in compassionate psychobiographical form and provides an excuse for reduced responsibility. In the Poddar Case the issue of the judiciary’s use of technical points of law to overturn jury verdicts when their assessment of the defendant’s mental state differs from the jury’s opinion is presented. Two issues are raised by the Leonard Smith case-how the juror’s sympathies can be attracted by a defendant and how mental health experts can provide an apparently scientific base for the jury to use as an acceptable rationale for an otherwise unacceptable decision. Disarray, vagueness, and confused, conflicting opinions of psychiatrists is apparent in the Tex Watson trial. Robert Torsney’s case demonstrates the error of trying to use involuntary treatment as an alternative to punishment. The problem of psychiatric testimony, even if insanity is not at issue, when psychiatrists become advocates for specific decisions, is presented in the Benjamin Smith case. Finally, in the John Hinckley case, how jury members are manipulated by as well as one another, is psychiatrists, shown.
CURRENT PUBLICATIONS ABSTRACTS
dilemmas and trade-offs inherent in policy selection is covered in the third analysis. In the final analysis, international hostage incidents are examined to test some of the propositions developed. Do the propositions match the theoretical framework, typologies, and actual terrorist events presented? A final chapter focuses on whether there is one optimal response to all acts of international terriorism. Tables and figures are listed. References, a selected bibliography, and an index complete the volume.
The Insanity Plea: The Uses and Abuses of the Insanity Defense by William J. Winslade and Judith Wilson Ross. Charles Schribner’s Sons (597 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10017), 1983, 226 pp., hardcover-$15.95. Winslade and Ross examine the contro“not guilty by reason of versial defense insanity.” Claiming that the insanity plea is indefensible, the authors present seven case histories to demonstrate their arguments. In these cases everyone knows that the defendant committed the crime. A psychiatrist, testifying as an expert witness, tries to help us understand the reasons behind those actions so that some degree of responsibility can be assessed of the defendant. Because an insanity plea establishes what the defendant’s state of mind was when he committed the crime, the authors argue that psychiatry does not have a scientific basis, such as forensic pathology, to discover human motives, intentions, or states of mind. They
further present information to demonstrate that the law and psychiatry are not philosophically compatible. An introductory chapter provides philosophical background about violence in the United States and commonly held opinions and beliefs about the insanity plea. Seven case presented in individual studies, chapters, illustrate the issues under consideration. The Dan White Case shows how psychiatrists play upon juror’s emotions by offering testimony that explains behavior in compassionate psychobiographical form and provides an excuse for reduced responsibility. In the Poddar Case the issue of the judiciary’s use of technical points of law to overturn jury verdicts when their assessment of the defendant’s mental state differs from the jury’s opinion is presented. Two issues are raised by the Leonard Smith case-how the juror’s sympathies can be attracted by a defendant and how mental health experts can provide an apparently scientific base for the jury to use as an acceptable rationale for an otherwise unacceptable decision. Disarray, vagueness, and confused, conflicting opinions of psychiatrists is apparent in the Tex Watson trial. Robert Torsney’s case demonstrates the error of trying to use involuntary treatment as an alternative to punishment. The problem of psychiatric testimony, even if insanity is not at issue, when psychiatrists become advocates for specific decisions, is presented in the Benjamin Smith case. Finally, in the John Hinckley case, how jury members are manipulated by as well as one another, is psychiatrists, shown.