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Full-Text Articles in Law
Virginia's Insanity Defense: Reform Is Imperative, William C. Waddell Iii
Virginia's Insanity Defense: Reform Is Imperative, William C. Waddell Iii
University of Richmond Law Review
Virginia is no exception to the statement that a great deal of time and energy has been expended by writers in addressing the defense ofinsanity. Unfortunately, instead of generating some notable reform, this fact has served to desensitize the legislators, the legal profession, and the public in this controversial area. In view of the current knowledge in the field of psychiatry, the approach for implementing the insanity defense in Virginia courts is not satisfactory.
Book Review: H. Fingarette & A. Fingarette Hasse, Mental Disabilities And Criminal Responsibilities, John Q. La Fond
Book Review: H. Fingarette & A. Fingarette Hasse, Mental Disabilities And Criminal Responsibilities, John Q. La Fond
Seattle University Law Review
Whether mental illness and related impairments in the human psyche should affect an individual's criminal responsibilityfor law-breaking behavior has always provoked intense andwide-ranging debate. This debate clearly reflects society's lack of consensus concerning the appropriateness and scope of considering mental impairment in assessing individual criminal responsiblility. Thus, it is not unexpected that recently proposals to abolish the insanity defense have been seriously suggested or that noted scholars have urged society to place the disposition of mentally ill offenders in the exclusive hands of experts. That this heated discussion continues unabated should come as no surprise, since legal doctrines which excuse …