Psychology 2032A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Insanity Defense, Actus Reus, Arbitrary Arrest And Detention

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2032A/B
• Professor: John Campbell

Document Summary

Psych of crime and correction: fitness to stand trial. Elements that must be present for criminal guilt. Must be found beyond a reasonable doubt for guilty verdict. Fit individuals charged with a crime are expected to understand the charges and proceedings, and help in preparing their defence. Unfit to stand trial: an inability to conduct a defence at any stage of the proceedings on account of a mental disorder~ can change at any point: v. prichard (1836) Whether the defendant is mute of malice (i. e, intentionality) Whether the defendant can plead to the indictment. Whether the defendant has sufficient cognitive capacity to understand proceedings. Unfit to stand trial if unable to: Communicate with counsel~ provide facts of incident. Fitness interview test revised (fit-r; rosch et al. , 1998) If unlikely to become fit, court can stay proceedings according to bill c-10~ ex. Brain damage, essentially shutting down, not dismissed, if change occurs stay can be lifted and trial starts again.