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Identifying insanity acquittals: is it any easier?

C Cirincione¹, C Jacobs

¹Department of Political Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs 06269-1024, USA.

Law and Human Behavior

|August 10, 1999

Summary

Today, more states track insanity acquittals than in the 1980s, but data limitations persist. This research examines the availability of empirical evidence for informed policy-making regarding the insanity defense.

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Area of Science:

Forensic Psychology
Legal Studies
Criminology

Background:

The insanity defense gained notoriety after the 1982 John Hinckley acquittal, prompting legislative reforms.
Policymakers at the time lacked empirical data to guide reforms of the insanity defense.
This study investigates the current availability of empirical data for informed policy decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess whether current data availability allows for more informed policy-making regarding the insanity defense.
To determine if legislative reforms can be guided by empirical evidence today.

Main Methods:

Analysis of state-level data collection practices for insanity acquittals.
Comparison of data availability and identification of insanity acquittal cases between the 1980s and the present.

Main Results:

More states can now identify cases involving an insanity acquittal compared to the 1980s.
Annual data on the number and rate of insanity acquittals are provided by an increased number of states.
Significant limitations exist in the data collected by many states.

Conclusions:

While data tracking has improved, significant limitations hinder comprehensive analysis.
Further improvements in data quality and consistency are needed for truly informed policy-making on the insanity defense.

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