Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
09:49
Holistic Facial Composite Creation and Subsequent Video Line-up Eyewitness Identification Paradigm
Published on: December 24, 2015
Analyzing the Successful Incompetent to Be Executed Cases in the United States: A First Pass
I-An Su1, John H Blume1,2, Stephen J Ceci1
1Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|March 28, 2025
Summary
Competency for execution (CFE) is underexplored. This study analyzed 28 successful CFE claimants, finding they are older, predominantly Black males with schizophrenia, and their cases differ from general death row populations.
Area of Science:
- Forensic Psychology
- Legal Psychology
- Criminal Justice
Background:
- The Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that individuals incompetent at the time of execution cannot be put to death.
- Competency for execution (CFE) remains an underexplored area in legal and psychological literature.
- Unresolved legal and ethical issues persist regarding CFE, even after landmark Supreme Court cases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a descriptive study of successful competency for execution (CFE) claimants.
- To analyze demographic and case characteristics of CFE claimants.
- To compare CFE claimants to the general death row population and nationwide homicide cases.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of demographic and case characteristics of 28 successful competency for execution (CFE) claimants.
- Comparison of CFE claimants with the general death row population.
- Comparison of CFE claimants' cases with nationwide homicide cases.
Main Results:
- Successful CFE claimants are predominantly older, Black males, with schizophrenia (96%) and psychiatric comorbidities (79%).
- Claimants' cases feature more child victims, female victims, and multiple victims, with fewer intraracial homicides.
- Psycho-legal deficiencies include low rates of mental health evidence (61%) and inconsistent psychiatric involvement in CFE evaluations.
Conclusions:
- Successful CFE claimants exhibit distinct demographic and case characteristics compared to the general death row population.
- Significant mental health issues and psycho-legal deficiencies are prevalent in CFE cases.
- Further research and policy development are needed to address complexities in CFE decisions.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Case Studies
There are many research methods available to psychologists in their efforts to understand, describe, and explain behavior and the cognitive and biological processes that underlie it.
03:20The Stanford Prison Experiment
The famous and controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by social psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues at Stanford University, demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts.
01:12First Pass Effect
Presystemic elimination, or the first-pass effect, is the metabolism of drugs that reduces their effective concentration at the site of action. Apart from the first-pass effect, the systemic bioavailability of the drug is also reduced by other factors, including incomplete absorption or chemical degradation of drugs.
Depending on the route of administration, drugs can be metabolized in the liver, intestine, lungs, and vasculature. Orally administered drugs are first absorbed through the...
Depending on the route of administration, drugs can be metabolized in the liver, intestine, lungs, and vasculature. Orally administered drugs are first absorbed through the...
01:20Actuarial Approach
The actuarial approach, a statistical method originally developed for life insurance risk assessment, is widely used to calculate survival rates in clinical and population studies. This method accounts for participants lost to follow-up or those who die from causes unrelated to the study, ensuring a more accurate representation of survival probabilities.
Consider the example of a high-risk surgical procedure with significant early-stage mortality. A two-year clinical study is conducted,...
Consider the example of a high-risk surgical procedure with significant early-stage mortality. A two-year clinical study is conducted,...
01:24Kaplan-Meier Approach
The Kaplan-Meier estimator is a non-parametric method used to estimate the survival function from time-to-event data. In medical research, it is frequently employed to measure the proportion of patients surviving for a certain period after treatment. This estimator is fundamental in analyzing time-to-event data, making it indispensable in clinical trials, epidemiological studies, and reliability engineering. By estimating survival probabilities, researchers can evaluate treatment effectiveness,...
01:29Theory of Attribution II: Kelley's Covariation Theory
Attribution theory plays a crucial role in social psychology, helping to explain how individuals interpret the causes of behavior. One prominent model within this field is Harold Kelley's covariation theory, which provides a systematic approach to determining whether internal traits or external circumstances drive a person's actions. The model posits that individuals rely on three key types of information—consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness—to make these judgments.Consensus: Comparing...