1st Edition
Self-Made Madness Rethinking Illness and Criminal Responsibility
By Edward W. Mitchell
Copyright 2003
272 Pages
by
Routledge
272 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
This multi-disciplinary book lies in the general areas of forensic psychiatry/psychology, sociology, jurisprudence, criminal law and criminology. It questions traditional assumptions about illness and mental disorder, and deals with the controversial notion that mental disorders (and possibly other 'illnesses') may be to varying extents the fault of the 'sufferer'. It examines how the law can... Read more
Contents: Part I: An Introduction to the Theory of Meta-Responsibility: Introduction: nomenclative, philosophical, and historical issues; Meta-responsibility in insanity and other legally incapacitating conditions; Consensual and purposive meta-responsibility; Meta-responsibility and the disposal of the mentally disordered offender; Psychological and socio-legal research with a bearing on the meta-responsibility theory. Part II: An Experimental Investigation into the Theory of Meta-Responsibility: A mock juror study of the meta-responsibility theory: methodology; Quantitative data analysis and presentation of results; Discussion of results with reference to subjects' reasons for their verdicts; The meta-responsibility theory: a viable birth?; Bibliography; Legal Cases; Appendix: the measuring instrument questions; Index.
Biography
Dr. Edward W. Mitchell is an Associate at the Centre for Criminological Research and Probation Studies Unit, University of Oxford and a Junior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford. He has a first degree in experimental psychology and a masters and doctorate in criminology from Cambridge. He was also a fellow at Harvard.
'Mitchell deserves credit for bringing a neglected topic to our consideration.' Metapsychology Online Book Reviews 'The book is well-written and the width and range of literary references perinent and entertaining, ranging...The argument is ingenious.' Justice of the Peace
