并非“免罪金牌”：比较因精神障碍而被认定无刑事责任能力者与已定罪罪犯的法律监管

Not a "Get Out of Jail Free Card": Comparing the Legal Supervision of Persons Found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder and Convicted Offenders.

作者信息

Martin Sandrine, Charette Yanick, Leclerc Chloé, Seto Michael C, Nicholls Tonia L, Crocker Anne G

机构信息

Institut National de Psychiatrie Légale Philippe-Pinel, Montreal, QC, Canada.

School of Social Work and Criminology, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.

出版信息

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Jan 18;12:775480. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.775480. eCollection 2021.

DOI:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.775480

PMID:35115962

原文链接:https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8804320/

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The public often perceives the insanity defense as a "get out of jail free card". Conversely, several studies demonstrate the substantial control imposed upon these defendants. This study compares Review Boards decisions regarding people found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder (NCRMD) to criminal courts decisions regarding convicted offenders for similar offenses in Canada.

METHOD

Detention, using logistic regression, and duration under detention and supervision, using Cox regression, were compared between a cohort of 1794 individuals found NCRMD in three Canadian provinces (Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia) between 2000 and 2005 followed until 2008 from the National Trajectory Project and a national sample of 3,20,919 Canadians convicted of criminal offense from Statistics Canada's Criminal Court Survey.

RESULTS

Individuals found NCRMD are 3.8 times (95% CI 3.4-4.3) more likely to be detained than convicted offenders as well as 4.8 times (95% CI 4.5-5.3) and 2.9 times (95% CI 2.6-3.1) less likely to be released from detention and supervision, respectively. One year after the verdict, 73% of the NCRMD accused were still under legal supervision and 42% were still in detention, whereas these proportions were, respectively, 41 and 1% for their convicted counterparts. Interaction effects show that sex, age, jurisdiction, number of offenses, and severity of crimes committed have a differential impact on decisions applied to NCRMD accused compared to convicted persons.

CONCLUSION

Contrary to popular perceptions, the insanity defense is not a loophole. Differences as to factors influencing the trajectories of the two samples confirm that Review Boards are able to distance their practices from the criminal courts and can set aside, at least in part, the principles of proportionality and punitiveness governing the traditional sentencing practices.

摘要

背景

公众常常将精神错乱辩护视为一张“免罪金牌”。相反，多项研究表明这些被告受到了实质性的管控。本研究将复审委员会对因精神障碍而被认定无刑事责任能力（NCRMD）者的裁决与加拿大刑事法庭对类似罪行的已定罪罪犯的裁决进行比较。

方法

利用逻辑回归比较拘留情况，并利用Cox回归比较拘留和监管期限。比较对象为2000年至2005年在加拿大三个省份（魁北克、安大略和不列颠哥伦比亚）被认定为NCRMD的1794名个体（来自国家轨迹项目，随访至2008年），以及加拿大统计局刑事法庭调查中320919名被判刑事犯罪的加拿大人的全国样本。

结果

被认定为NCRMD的个体被拘留的可能性是已定罪罪犯的3.8倍（95%置信区间3.4 - 4.3），从拘留和监管中获释的可能性分别比已定罪罪犯低4.8倍（95%置信区间4.5 - 5.3）和2.9倍（95%置信区间2.6 - 3.1）。裁决一年后，73%的NCRMD被告仍处于法律监管之下，42%仍被拘留，而其已定罪的对应者的这些比例分别为41%和1%。交互作用表明，与已定罪者相比，性别、年龄、司法管辖区、犯罪次数和所犯罪行的严重程度对适用于NCRMD被告的裁决有不同影响。