PERCEIVED CONTROL, CRIME SEVERITY AND THE NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY VERDICT (LAW)
Abstract
The mentally ill have historically been the victims of prejudice, scorn and even fear. In what appears to be an extension of these public fears, a number of state legislatures have enacted laws which require that any defendant who pleads Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) also be tried against the verdict Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI). The GBMI verdict has aroused much controversy, and it is hypothesized that the attraction for it stems from its apparent ability to control and isolate the feared mentally ill defendant while appearing to be humane and treatment oriented. The limited research on this controversial verdict also suggests that it has the power to blind mock jurors to evidence that would otherwise acquit the defendant. A research study was undertaken to examine how perceived control over the mentally ill defendant will affect mock jurors' willingness to acquit a defendant as NGRI. There were two levels of perceived control (low and high), as well as two levels of crime severity (shoplifting and murder), guilt (innocent and guilty) and age of mock jurors (students and elderly). The results show a strong effect for perceived control, with mock jurors rejecting the NGRI verdict when they believed they had low control and accepting it when they believed they had high control. Level of crime severity, guilt level and mock juror age all failed to impact on verdict ratings. Interestingly, although 50% of all mock jurors witnessed trial videotapes wherein the defendant was portrayed as innocent, only 5.7% of all jurors chose Not Guilty as the appropriate verdict. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for the use of the insanity defense, in general, as well as for the increasing popularity of the GBMI verdict. The results are also discussed as a reflection of our society's ability to rationalize the maltreatment of the mentally ill.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Psychotherapy
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