Depressed but not legally mentally impaired

This article examines the mental impairment (insanity) defense in the Australian state of Victoria and argues that the defense is successful only when offenders suffer from psychotic mental illnesses. This raises the question about how non-psychotic offenders are dealt with by the courts when they claim ‘mental impairment’ for serious acts of violence such as homicide, particularly when a relatively large number of perpetrators involved in homicide suffer from non-psychotic illnesses like depression. The analysis shows that depressive illnesses do not reach the threshold for mental impairment (legal insanity) such that they mitigate violent criminal behavior, although they can, arguably, diminish culpability. This article draws upon existing literature, qualitative analysis of two court cases and semi-structured interviews with four legal representatives to make its conclusions.     

Mental disorder and legal responsibility: The relevance of stages of decision making

The paper discusses the relevance of decision-making models for evaluating the impact of mental disorder on legal responsibility. A three-stage model is presented that analyzes decision making in terms of behavioral control. We argue that understanding dysfunctions in each of the three stages of decision making could provide important insights in the relation between mental disorder and legal responsibility. In particular, it is argued that generating options for action constitutes an important but largely ignored stage of the decision-making process, and that dysfunctions in this early stage might undermine the whole process of making decisions (and thus behavioral control) more strongly than dysfunctions in later stages. Lastly, we show how the presented framework could be relevant to the actual psychiatric assessment of a defendant's decision making within the context of an insanity defense.     

精神卫生法的理想与现实

《精神卫生法》的立法经历了一个极其漫长的过程,最终出台的法律文本仍然存在非常严重的问题,其立法所要解决的问题所要达到的目的非常高,而与中国的现实严重脱节。《精神卫生法》立法的三大理想中,保护精神病患者的合法权益是核心,并希望立法来解决包括被精神病等一系列的社会现实问题。但是,立法脱离现实,相关的内容甚至出现了错误,表现在精神病患者的收治、实施导致人体器官丧失功能的外科手术、急诊急救、基层医疗机构的精神卫生保障等方面。由于存在不切合中国实际国情的规定,《精神卫生法》在我国的实施将会大打折扣。建议《精神卫生法》重点关注严重精神疾病患者得不到治疗、肇事肇祸的严重精神疾病患者得不到强制医疗的现象,关注财政投入不足、强制收治不规范等方面的问题。     

Obligatory dangerousness criteria in the involuntary commitment and treatment provisions of Australian mental health legislation

Objective

Involuntary commitment and treatment (IC&T) of people affected by mental illness may have reference to considerations of dangerousness and/or need for care. While attempts have been made to classify mental health legislation according to whether IC&T has obligatory dangerousness criteria, there is no standardised procedure for making classification decisions. The aim of this study was to develop and trial a classification procedure and apply it to Australia's mental health legislation.

Method

We developed benchmarks for ‘need for care’ and ‘dangerousness’ and applied these benchmarks to classify the mental health legislation of Australia's 8 states and territories. Our focus was on civil commitment legislation rather than criminal commitment legislation.

Results

One state changed its legislation during the course of the study resulting in two classificatory exercises. In our initial classification, we were able to classify IC&T provisions in legislation from 6 of the 8 jurisdictions as being based on either ‘need for care’ or ‘dangerousness’. Two jurisdictions used a terminology that was outside the established benchmarks. In our second classification, we were also able to successfully classify IC&T provisions in 6 of the 8 jurisdictions. Of the 6 Acts that could be classified, all based IC&T on ‘need for care’ and none contained mandatory ‘dangerousness’ criteria.

Conclusions

The classification system developed for this study provided a transparent and probably reliable means of classifying 75% of Australia's mental health legislation. The inherent ambiguity of the terminology used in two jurisdictions means that further development of classification may not be possible until the meaning of the terms used has been addressed in case law. With respect to the 6 jurisdictions for which classification was possible, the findings suggest that Australia's mental health legislation relies on ‘need for care’ and not on ‘dangerousness’ as the guiding principle for IC&T.     

Crime and mental disorders among native Dutch and ethnic minority juvenile defendants in the Netherlands

We examined the prevalence of mental disorders and the recommendations regarding criminal responsibility and treatment in pre-trial mental health evaluations requested by Dutch juvenile courts for youths between the ages of 12 to 17. Youths of native Dutch (n = 2694) and of ethnic minority background (n = 1393) were compared. The prevalence of mental disorders was similar for both groups (76.8% versus 74.4%). Criminal responsibility in native Dutch youth was more often considered ‘diminished’ or ‘strongly diminished’ than in ethnic minority youth. Admission to a juvenile institution was more often recommended for ethnic minority juveniles than for native Dutch juveniles. It remains unclear from our data whether these differences reflect a false stereotype of ethnic minority populations as being more dangerous and threatening.     

国家赔偿中精神损害抚慰金的适用问题——以《国家赔偿法》第35条后半段为分析对象

精神损害抚慰金的适用原则应当是赔偿法定、适当限制、平等对待以及区分类型,认定"造成严重后果"应根据生命权、健康权、身体权、人身自由权、名誉权等权利具体分析认定。在操作程序上,确定抚慰金数额可分为五个步骤。在适用对象方面,认定精神痛苦应以理性第三人标准与具体当事人标准有机统一,我国目前还不宜将精神损害赔偿的请求权人扩展到特定第三人,无感受能力之人的赔偿数额应低于正常受害人。     

Appeals against detention in conditions of excessive security: outcomes and decision-making

The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Scotland Act 2003 introduced the right for patients to appeal against detention in conditions of excessive security initially to those in high security. Aim: to further investigate appeal outcomes and to examine Tribunal decision-making. Results: responsible medical officer support, being on the transfer list and not having a diagnosis of learning disability increased the chances of a successful appeal. Qualitative analysis of the Tribunal’s decision-making produced 5 themes and 17 subthemes. These were used to develop a ‘checklist’ framework to improve understanding of relevant appeal factors. Conclusions: Neither appeal outcomes nor patient characteristics have changed over time. The checklist may be useful as a training tool and clinical guide. This study is timely given that the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015 extended the right of appeal against excessive security to patients detained within medium secure units from November 2015.     

解析恐怖主义分子活动的心理动机

本文从犯罪心理学的角度,分析了恐怖主义分子在中心理动机形成的心理社会背景,从生物性、行为性、认知性、情绪性四个维度,对心理动机进行解构,探索恐怖主义分子在活动中心理动机形成的生理、个体和社会根源。     

Prison misconduct among female inmates with mental disorders,substance abuse/dependence,and co-occurring disorders in Taiwan

This survey study attempted to address two research questions: (1) whether female inmates with either singular mental illness or singular substance abuse/dependence disorders were more likely to break institutional rules in prison than their disorder-free counterparts; and (2) whether female inmates with both mental illness and substance abuse/dependence disorders (CODs) were more likely to engage in misbehaviour than either disorder-free or singularly disordered women during the course of their confinement. The current study employed a sample of 643 female inmates and the data for analyses contained information on inmates’ CODs, mental and substance abuse/dependence disorders, and pre-prison and prison experiences. The results showed that female inmates with CODs committed the most misconduct in prisons, but no significant effect was found on prison misconduct among inmates with singular disorders and disorder-free female inmates. Possible explanations for these results were suggested, and public policy implications were discussed in the concluding section.