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United States federal laws governing offenders with mental diseases or defects (18 U.S.C. §§ 4241–4248) provide for the evaluation and handling of defendants who are suspected of having mental diseases or defects. The laws were completely revamped by the Insanity Defense Reform Act in the wake of the John Hinckley Jr. verdict.
Expungement in the United States is a process which varies across jurisdictions. Many states allow for criminal records to be sealed or expunged, although laws vary by state. Some states do not permit expungement, or allow expungement under very limited circumstances. [1]
Every year just over 5% of all felony defendants, over 60,000 people are evaluated for competency to stand trial(CST). Of those evaluated, only around 11-30% are deemed incompetent. [9] Competency to stand trial depends only on the defendants current mental state and is entirely separate from their mental state at the time of the crime.
The number of findings of diminished responsibility has been matched by a fall in unfitness to plead and insanity findings. [11] A plea of diminished capacity is different from a plea of insanity in that "reason of insanity" is a full defense while "diminished capacity" is merely a plea to a lesser crime. [23]
People found not guilty in criminal proceedings by reason of a successful insanity defense. Does not include people who were found "guilty but mentally ill" or "guilty but insane". For people who avoided a verdict because they were insane during the court process, see Category:People declared mentally unfit for court
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A hearing about competency to stand trial is required under the due process clause of the Constitution of the United States. [2] BOR, 14th 1972 Jackson v. Indiana: Criminal defendants who have been found incompetent to stand trial are not permitted to be held indefinitely.
Because pleading in the alternative is generally permitted in criminal cases, a defendant may claim to have not committed the crime itself, but at the same time may claim that if the defendant had committed the crime, the act was excused for a reason such as insanity or intoxication, or was justified due to provocation or self-defense. Such ...