Law Commons^™

"Guilty But Mentally Ill": The Real Verdict Is Guilty, Linda C. Fentiman

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

This article will first explore the reasons for the controversy over the insanity defense to provide insights, both historical and contemporary, into the purposes and functions of that defense. A brief examination will be made of judicial decisions in the last twenty years, which have largely, but not completely, eliminated the distinctions drawn historically between the "civilly" and "criminally" mentally ill. The article will then examine the growing numbers of "Guilty But Mentally Ill" (GBMI) laws, with some emphasis upon the Michigan statute as the archetypal GBMI law. It will be argued that the GBMI laws are fatally flawed in …