Holoyda Brian, Newman William
Dr. Holoyda is a General Psychiatry Resident in the Adult Psychiatry Residency Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA. Dr. Newman is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
J Am Acad Psychiatry Law. 2016 Mar;44(1):53-62.
Cults are charismatic groups defined by members' adherence to a set of beliefs and teachings that differ from those of mainstream religions. Cult beliefs may appear unusual or bizarre to those outside of the organization, which can make it difficult for an outsider to know whether a belief is cult-related or delusional. In accordance with these beliefs, or at the behest of a charismatic leader, some cult members may participate in violent crimes such as murder and later attempt to plead not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). It is therefore necessary for forensic experts who evaluate cult members to understand how the court has responded to such individuals and their beliefs when they mount a defense of NGRI for murder. Based on a review of extant appellate court case law, cult member defendants have not yet successfully pleaded NGRI on the basis of cult involvement, despite receiving a broad array of psychiatric diagnoses that could qualify for such a defense. With the reintroduction of cult involvement in the DSM-5 criteria for other specified dissociative disorder, however, there may be a resurgence of dissociative-type diagnoses in future cult-related cases, both criminal and civil.
邪教是具有超凡魅力的团体，其成员坚持一套与主流宗教不同的信仰和教义。邪教信仰对于组织外部的人来说可能显得不寻常或怪异，这使得局外人很难判断一种信仰是否与邪教有关或属于妄想。根据这些信仰，或者在具有超凡魅力的领袖的授意下，一些邪教成员可能会参与谋杀等暴力犯罪，随后试图以精神错乱为由进行无罪抗辩（NGRI）。因此，评估邪教成员的法医专家有必要了解，当这些人以精神错乱为由为谋杀罪进行辩护时，法庭是如何回应他们及其信仰的。基于对现有上诉法院判例法的审查，尽管邪教成员被告接受了一系列可能符合此类辩护条件的精神病学诊断，但他们尚未成功地以参与邪教为由进行精神错乱无罪抗辩。然而，随着邪教参与被重新纳入《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第五版中其他特定解离性障碍的标准，在未来与邪教相关的刑事和民事案件中，解离型诊断可能会再度出现。
