Real-Life Communication
You are a forensic psychologist working for the court system. Your
job requires you to do everything from evaluating jury members (for either
the prosecution or the defense) to deciding if a defendant is mentally fit
to stand trial.
For several days, the entire town has been talking
about a grisly murder case. It took months for the police to make an arrest.
Then, when the case finally came to trial, the defendant was judged not guilty
by reason of insanity.
A local radio show has been bombarded with telephone
calls from people complaining that the defendant got away with murder. The
host invites you to come on the show and explain the insanity plea to her
listeners.
You have mixed feelings about the offer. It's true that
you have lots of experience testifying as an expert witness in court, so you're
used to explaining concepts to people who aren't trained in psychology.
The
problem is the host. She is known for interrupting guests when she disagrees
with them, to the point where they can't get their message across. Worse,
you know from listening to previous shows that she disapproves of people using
insanity as a defense. And, unlike a courtroom, there is no judge to bang
a gavel if she gets out of line!
Still, you want to help people understand
that an insanity plea doesn't mean the defendant gets off free. In the end,
you refuse to appear on the show, telling the host that you have other commitments.
But you offer to write a brief letter explaining the insanity defense for
her to read on the air.
Here are the points you want to include in
your letter:
- Just because a person pleads not guilty by reason of insanity, it doesn't
mean that they are saying that they didn't commit the crime.
- Our system of justice is based on the principle of mens rea, or the intent
to commit a crime. It must be proven that the defendant knew what they were
doing when they committed the crime.
- Pleading insanity does not mean that a criminal gets away with murder.
- Many defendants who plead insanity spend longer in a psychiatric hospital
than they would have spent in prison.
- Very few criminals use insanity as a defense. Of those criminals, only
10 percent are successful.