The relationship between criminal charges, diagnoses, and psycholegal opinions among federal pretrial defendants

This study analyzed data from 1710 criminal defendants referred by federal courts throughout the United States. We examined 12 categories of criminal charges with respect to diagnosed psychopathology and opinions related to c ompetence to stand trial (CST) and criminal responsibility (CR) at the time of the alleged offense. Overall, 18% of the present sample were found to b e incompetent to stand trial, while 12% were found to be not criminally res ponsible or 'insane.' In this study, crimes were associated with rates of p sychopathology and rates of opinions regarding CST and CR. The findings of this study suggest that individuals who are charged with different crimes h ave different mental states and psychopathology and are therefore found to have differential rates of competence and sanity. Copyright (C) 2001 John W iley & Sons, Ltd.