The Insanity Defense

How often is the defense of insanity or temporary insanity for accused criminals valid-or is it ever legitimate? This unique work presents multidisciplinary viewpoints that explain, support, and critique the insanity defense as it stands.
What is the role of "the insanity defense" as a legal excuse? How does U. S. law handle criminal trials where the defendant pleads insanity, and how does our legal system's treatment differ from those of other countries or cultures? How are insanity defenses used, and how successful are these defenses for the accused? What are the costs of incarceration versus psychiatric treatment and confinement?

This book presents a range of expert viewpoints on the insanity defense, exposing common myths; investigating its effectiveness and place in our legal system through history, case studies, and comparative analysis; and supplying perspectives from the disciplines of psychology, psychiatry, sociology, and neuroscience. The content also addresses the ramifications of declaring citizens insane or incapacitated and examines trials that involved pleas of insanity and temporary insanity.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part I Essentials of the Law
Chapter 1 The Insanity Defense: Nine Myths That Will Not Go Away
Michael L. Perlin
Chapter 2 The Temporary Insanity Defense
Russell D. Covey
Chapter 3 Mens Rea and Mental Disorder
Craig A. Stern
Part II Psychiatry and the Law
Chapter 4 The Shadows of Normality: Legal Insanity under Modern Criminal Law
Gabriel Hallevy
Chapter 5 Insanity Constructs
Meron Wondemaghen
Chapter 6 Insanity: Neurolaw and Forensic Psychiatry
Maartje Katzenbauer and Gerben Meynen
Part III Philosophy and the Law
Chapter 7 The Mistaken Quest for a Control Test: For a Rationality Standard of Sanity
Paul Litton
Chapter 8 Legal Insanity and Executive Function
Katrina Sifferd, William Hirstein, and Tyler Fagan
Chapter 9 Insanity and Free Will: The Humanitarian Argument for Abolition
Michael Louis Corrado
Part IV Law, Policy, and Reform
Chapter 10 Abolishing Insanity: Proposals from England and Wales
Paul Catley
Chapter 11 Mental Insanity at the International Criminal Court: Proposal for a New Regulation
Natalia Silva
Chapter 12 Andrea Yates: A Continuing Story about Insanity
Deborah W. Denno
About the Contributors and Editor
Index