Legal standards for insanity measurably shape both plea frequency and outcomes.

Evidence

But researchers have found that the test used for determining insanity affects both the frequency of insanity pleas and their success, so apparently jurors do attempt to apply the standard outlined by judges in their instructions to the jury. … Perhaps surprisingly, establishment of the “guilty but mentally ill” verdict has not decreased NGRI pleas or acquittals, as it appears that those defendants in Michigan who pled guilty but mentally ill would have pled guilty in the absence of that alternative verdict. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1896

Categorization

• XREF: Supports the book-wide theme that jury instructions and legal tests actually channel verdicts (cf. ch. 67 on jury instructions). — connects to: Rehabilitative sentencing collapsed under attacks from left, right, and empirical research. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1910; Judge fatigue and mood states measurably alter sentencing outcomes — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law: A Definitive Look at…, 756
• QUESTION: Could explore why the ‘guilty but mentally ill’ verdict failed its stated purpose across the 11 adopting states.

Broader Connections

• Judge fatigue and mood states measurably alter sentencing outcomes #expands (0.72) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 756