Crime and Psychology

Clear and accessible in style, this book offers a comprehensive introduction to criminal justice and forensic mental health and the ways in which they intersect. Assuming no prior exposure to the field of criminal forensic psychology, the book reviews ten areas where mental health professionals contribute regularly to the due process of law: comprehension of rights, competency to stand trial, transfer of juveniles to adult court, risk assessment, mitigation, sentencing, sexually violent predators, insanity, and capital punishment of persons with mental illness and with intellectual disability. The book also explores the major categories of mental disorders, how they contribute to criminal behavior, and what problems they present in courts and corrections. Landmark cases from the United States and United Kingdom are also reviewed in detail to develop a thorough understanding of the court's decision-making process. Bridging the gap between abstraction and practice through its narrative presentation of case material, emphasis on controversy, and illumination of the historical roots of problems and ideas, the book helps the forensic practitioner transition from novice to knowledgeable professional in the courtroom. Drawing on the author's extensive experience in forensic psychology, this book is the ideal resource for the early-career forensic mental health practitioner, as well as graduate students in forensic mental health and forensic psychology, and mental health professionals seeking to enter the field of forensics.

Jonathan Venn, Ph.D., ABPP, earned his doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology at Northwestern University in 1977. He has been providing psychological services since 1971 and has evaluated thousands of criminal defendants, convicted felons, and juvenile delinquents. He has testified as an expert witness in hundreds of litigated proceedings.

PART 1: Foundational concepts of law and mental health 1. Due process of law 2. Mental health professionals in court 3. Expert testimony 4. Pleas and verdicts 5. Three standards of evidence 6. Four goals of sentencing 7. The doctrine of mens rea 8. Applications of mens rea PART 2: Due process before trial 9. Waiver of 5th and 6th Amendment rights during police interrogations: Miranda v. Arizona (U.S. 1966) 10. Competency to stand trial (CST) 11. Transfer of juveniles to adult court: Kent v. United States (U.S. 1966) PART 3: Due process after conviction 12. Assessing risk of violence 13. Risk assessment and the death penalty 14. Mitigation testimony in capital sentencing has no limits: Lockett v. Ohio (U.S. 1978) 15. Juvenile Sentencing: Miller v. Alabama (U.S. 2012) 16. Civil commitment of sexually violent predators (SVPs) 17. Executing persons who have intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) 18. Competency to be executed: Ford v. Wainwright (U.S. 1986) PART 4: The insanity defense 19. The three incapacities 20. Foundational cases in the United Kingdom from Rex v. Arnold (1724) to Regina v. M'Naghten (1843) 21. A middle road for the insanity defense: Diminished responsibility / diminished capacity / diminished actuality 22. U.S. cases that narrowed the insanity defense 23. Case Study #12: The death penalty for a defendant with serious mental illness and volitional incapacity: State v. Wilson (S.C. 1992) 24. The abolitionist states PART 5: Mental disorders and crime 25. Neurodevelopmental Disorders 26. Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders 27. Bipolar and Related Disorders 28. Depressive disorders 29. Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders 30. Dissociative disorders 31. Disruptive, Impulse-Control, and Conduct Disorders 32. Substance-Related and Addictive 33. Neurocognitive Disorders Disorders 34. Personality disorders 35. Paraphilic Disorders 36. Mental disorders less commonly associated with crime 37. Epilogue: The future of forensic mental health