Abstract
An important topic related to the insanity defense is what jurors should be told about the disposition of a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). In the federal court system, jurors are not instructed about the consequences of an NGRI verdict. State courts, however, are divided on the question. The federal precedent, Shannon v. United States, and the most recent state case to rule on NGRI juror instructions, State v. Becker, are reviewed in detail. What follows is the author's critique of the principal arguments for and against a jury instruction on NGRI disposition. The author argues in favor of a jury instruction on the consequences of an NGRI verdict.
Footnotes
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At the time this article was written, Dr. Piel was a Fellow in Forensic Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH.
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Disclosures of financial or other potential conflicts of interest: None.
- © 2012 American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law