Mikolajewski Amy J, Manguno-Mire Gina M, Coffman Kelly L, Deland Sarah M, Thompson John W
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine.
Behav Sci Law. 2017 May;35(3):225-238. doi: 10.1002/bsl.2287. Epub 2017 Apr 20.
Criminal defendants have a fundamental right to a fair and speedy trial. However, individuals found incompetent to stand trial are unable to move forward in the adjudication process and are often mired in protracted legal proceedings. If competency restoration is statutorily permissible and can be conducted in the outpatient setting, we propose that it should be considered based on burgeoning empirical data. We present data from an outpatient forensic clinic in which individuals are conditionally released to receive competency restoration in the community. Results indicated that three variables, including being single/never married, having comorbid intellectual disability and mental illness, and having one's conditional release revoked, were negatively related to successful restoration. The final model explained approximately one-third of the variance in restorability and correctly classified 75% of cases. Results demonstrate that individuals can be safely released to the community and successfully restored to competency in the outpatient setting. Utilizing outpatient competency restoration would not only reduce strain on inpatient facilities, but would also reduce the cost of treatment. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
刑事被告享有接受公正和迅速审判的基本权利。然而，被认定无能力接受审判的个人无法推进审判程序，且常常陷入旷日持久的法律诉讼之中。如果法律允许恢复行为能力且可以在门诊环境中进行，我们建议应基于新出现的实证数据予以考虑。我们展示了一家门诊法医诊所的数据，在该诊所中，个体被有条件地释放以便在社区接受行为能力恢复治疗。结果表明，包括单身/从未结婚、患有智力残疾和精神疾病合并症以及有条件释放被撤销在内的三个变量与成功恢复呈负相关。最终模型解释了恢复能力约三分之一的方差，并正确分类了75%的案例。结果表明，个体可以安全地被释放到社区，并在门诊环境中成功恢复行为能力。利用门诊行为能力恢复不仅会减轻住院设施的压力，还会降低治疗成本。版权所有© 2017约翰·威利父子有限公司。
