This study could not have been completed without the leadership and commitment of Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer, in spearheading the development of the Akron Mental Health Court, the first mental health court in Ohio, and Anthony Ingram, Coordinator of Akron Mental Health Court, who ensured that competency evaluations could be conducted on an expedited basis.
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Research Article
The role of competency to stand trial in mental health courts†
Article first published online: 7 APR 2005
DOI: 10.1002/bsl.649
Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Issue
1099-0798/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=27cb3cb3b3e789b2519ed5b84bdb198bf5ddfb33 "Behavioral Sciences & the Law")
Behavioral Sciences & the Law
Special Issue: Diversion from the Criminal Justice System
Volume 23, Issue 2, pages 245–258, March/April 2005
Additional Information
How to Cite
Stafford, K. P. and Wygant, D. B. (2005), The role of competency to stand trial in mental health courts. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 23: 245–258. doi: 10.1002/bsl.649
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Publication History
- Issue published online: 7 APR 2005
- Article first published online: 7 APR 2005
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
Abstract
Concerns have been raised in the literature about the competency to stand trial and competency to make treatment decisions of defendants referred to mental health courts. However, there is little information reported about the evaluation and prevalence of incompetence, characteristics of incompetent mental health court defendants, and disposition of mentally ill defendants too disturbed to be diverted from the criminal justice system through mental health courts. This study reports on the 85 potential mental health court defendants referred for trial competency evaluations during the first three years of operation of the Akron Ohio Mental Health Court. Of the 80 defendants who could be located for evaluation, 77.5% were found incompetent, and 53% of the incompetent defendants were not restored to competence even after an average of 49 days of treatment in a state psychiatric hospital. The implications of these findings in terms of the diversion potential of mental health courts for the severely mentally ill are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.