mercredi 18 mai 2016

Places Where Forensic Psychiatry Is Applied

By Gary Ward


Psychiatry is among medical fields that has several branches under it. Under it is the field of forensic psychiatry, which has a close relationship with criminology. The short form F will be used for the purpose of this writing. FP is a field that creates an interface between law and psychiatry. Forensic psychiatrists are the medical professionals who specialize in this field. They take on a lot of duties in the court system and activities related to law enforcement.

Forensic psychiatrists work with the court system in determination of the competency of individuals to stand trials. The evaluations they provide on individuals serve as recommendations for sentencing. These individuals also act as expert witnesses for defendants in lawsuits. FP encompasses two areas of criminal evaluations, these are, MSO and CST. CST stands for Competency to Stand Trial while MSO stands for Mental State at the Time of the Offence.

Competency to Stand Trial is the evaluation done to ascertain the mental capacity of the defendant in a case to understand whatever charges made against them. It also determines if the named defendant is sane enough to assist their attorney in defense preparation. In the US constitution, CST falls under the Fifth Amendment. Under this provision, the defendant must be allowed the chance to face their accuser, be present during their trial, and be in a position to collaborate and assist the attorney in preparing a defense.

There are also times when these psychiatrists may be required to act as expert witnesses in civil or criminal cases. Here, they present an independent opinion to the court in the form of a report. They formulate their opinions and explain to the court the basis of their opinions. The judge or jury may base on the opinion given by the expert witness to make the final ruling.

These psychiatrists may also be hired to formulate an opinion regarding the state of mind a person was in when they committed a certain crime. The goal here is to ascertain if the defendant knew that there actions were of a criminal nature when they committed them. The application of this psychiatric knowledge from state to state, with some states rejecting it altogether.

Three key standards of reason are based upon by FP specialists in determining mental fitness. The three standards are ALI test, Durham rule, and MNaghten rules. If mental capacity is determined to be lacking in the defendant during or after committing a crime, one of the three standards may be based upon to drop the charges. The basis for freeing the defendant is lack of mental capacity to understand the criminality of their actions.

In court trial where a psychiatrist has been hired to determine mental fitness, both the prosecution and the defense will have their own psychiatrists. Psychiatrists are also employed to take care of prisoners in jail as well as prison. In addition, they also provide care for mentally ill individuals who not been charged with criminal conduct on the basis of mental unfitness.

The risk management profession is adopting FP at a high rate. FP is used to avoid future risks by placing suspected or potential offenders under the supervision of forensic psychiatric professionals. The professionals usually work as a team comprised of nurses, psychologists, care workers, and psychiatrists.




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