U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Defending the Mentally Ill - The Insanity Defense and the Role of Forensic Hypnosis

NCJ Number
80705
Journal
International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis Volume: 27 Issue: 4 Dated: special monograph issue (October 1979) Pages: 375-401
Author(s)
M V Kline
Date Published
1979
Length
27 pages
Annotation
The forensic use of hypnosis in the legal defense of the mentally ill and emotionally disturbed defendant is viewed as part of the comprehensive psychological and psychiatric evaluation process.
Abstract
As such, it can play a meaningful role within the criminal justice system in helping to elucidate and clarify relevant aspects of the defendant's behavior and personality dynamics. The expert witness must present hypnosis within a psychological context meaningful to lawyers, judges, and jurors if it is to be utilized as an effective modality in advancing our concept of law as a rational/means of behavior control and social intervention. (Author abstract)