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Forensic Psychology Test 1 > Forensic Psych Test #3 > Flashcards

Forensic Psych Test #3 Flashcards

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1
Q

How is a death sentence considered

A
  • When a homicide is committed a prosecutor is given some “guided” discretion as to whether or not a murder under “special circumstances” becomes a capital case
  • The defense attorney’s job is to convince the prosecutor not to seek the death penalty
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2
Q

Examples of aggravating factors

A
  • Murder of a law enforcement official
  • Murder after kidnapping
  • Torture
  • Defendant is dangerous or a risk to others
  • History of violence
  • Murder for hire
  • Murder of two or more people
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3
Q

Why was the death penalty outlawed

A

Furman V. Georgia in 1972 outlawed the death penalty because its arbitrary and discriminatory application qualified it as “cruel and unusual punishment”

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4
Q

What is the role of forensic psychologists in death penalty cases

A
  • A competency to stand trial assessment

- Assess pretrial publicity to assess knowledge and bias in the case - could request a change of venue

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5
Q

Death Qualification Procedure

A

Prior to the trial the prospective jurors are asked if they are so opposed to capitol punishment that they could not vote for the death penalty under any circumstances regardless of the facts

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6
Q

Bifurcated trial

A

A trial with two phases

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7
Q

What evidence can be introduced in a bifurcated trial and when can it be introduced

A

Evidence that was not allowed during the guilt determination phase because it would be deemed prejudicial may be allowed during the sentencing phase

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8
Q

Examples of mitigating factors

A
  • No significant prior criminal record
  • Youth of defendant
  • Duress, coercion, or domination by another
  • Extreme emotion
  • Limited understanding of the consequences of the act
  • Mental retardation
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9
Q

Reasons a defendant can appeal his or her sentence

A
  • If a defendant feels he or she was inadequately represented
  • If exculpatory evidence was uncovered after the trial
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10
Q

Describe the law regarding the execution of mentally retarded individuals

A
  • 18 states did not allow it as of 2002 (12 of them do not have a death penalty)
  • Atkins V. Virginia stated that it was cruel and unusual punishment
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11
Q

Know the research on the deterrent effects of the death penalty

A

-States with the death penalty have the highest homicide rates

Brutilization effect: Human life is held less sacred

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12
Q

Most often used means of excecution in the US

A
  • Lethal injection (36 states)
  • Electrocution (10 states)
  • Gas Chamber (5 states)
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13
Q

Know the reasons that can be used in some states to excuse criminal behavior

A
  • Legal insanity

- Duress

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14
Q

Legal insanity

A

-A person who is unaware of the meaning of his or her act and should not be held criminally responsible for them

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15
Q

-Duress

A

-An individual acted under duress when a person threatened him or her with death or serious bodily harm

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16
Q

Mens rea

A
  • “Guilty mind”

- Is only possible if there was free will and intent to do harm

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17
Q

GBMI

A
  • Guilty but mentally ill

- “attempts” to provide treatment within a correctional setting for defendants with psychiatric disorders

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18
Q

NGRI

A

Not guilty by reason of insanity

-Usually committed to a psychiatric hospital and will stay until they no longer have psychiatric problems

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19
Q

Malingering

A

The conscious fabrication or gross exaggeration of physical or psychological symptoms done in order to achieve external goals such as avoiding prison

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20
Q

Earliest Insanity Defense

A
  • 13th century England
  • “Wild beast test” - based on the belief that individuals who had no more control over their behavior than a wild beast should not be held responsible for their behavior
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21
Q

M’Naghten Rule

A
  • 1843
  • Person was suffering from “a defect of reason, arising from a disease of the mind”
  • Cognitive test of insanity : emphasizes the quality of the person’s thought processes and perceptions at the time of the crime
  • Criticized for its narrow focus on people’s cognitive knowledge
  • Used in about half of the U.S.
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22
Q

Irresistible Impulse Standard

A
  • Temporary supplement to the M’Naghten rule
  • Stated that even if the person know right from wrong, his or her free will was so destroyed or overruled that the person lost power to choose between right and wrong
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23
Q

Durham Rule

A
  • Was developed as a continued reaction to the M’Naghten rule even with the added irresistible impulse standard
  • Stated that the accused was not criminally responsible if his or her unlawful act was a product of mental disease or defect
  • Experts were using any familiar clinical diagnosis to help people beat their convictions
24
Q

American Law Institute Standard (Brawner Rule)

A
  • Was developed due to the criticism of the Durham rule
  • Is comprehensive
  • 1) Cognitive: Can’t appreciate wrongfulness
    2) Volition - Can’t conform to his or her conduct
25
Q

ALI Standard

A

-A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of the action, as a result of mental disease or defect, he or she lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his or her conduct or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law

26
Q

What changes have occured since the Hinkley case

A
  • The law on insanity defense was re-written
  • Many states narrowed the defense and some shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defense, making NGRI an “affirmative” defense
  • Some narrowed the range of testimony psychiatric experts could give
  • 12 states started a possible verdict of “guilty but mentally ill” but still retained the possible verdict of NGRI
27
Q

What does the defendant give up when he or she pleads guilty

A
  • Right to jury trial

- Right to confront accuser

28
Q

What is required for a person to be deemed competent to stand trial

A
  • Defendant must:
  • Understand the criminal proceedings (including the role of the participants)
  • Must be able to function in that process (must be able to consult with counsel)
29
Q

What is necessary to demonstrate in cases involving childhood trauma for both civil and criminal trials

A
  • Evidence that the child was the victim of an event
  • In a civil trial a diagnosis is more important
  • Proof of competency
30
Q

Relationship between childhood sexual abuse and PTSD

A

Studies show that half of all sexually abused children will meet full or partial criteria for PTSD (of known cases)

31
Q

The role of a forensic psychologist when working with child trauma victims

A
  • Evaluation of the child
  • Assessment of competency to testify
  • Preparation of the child to testify
  • Expert witness testimony
  • Research
32
Q

Statement validity assessment

A

a comprehensive procedure to determine if a child made truthful or false statements during the interview

33
Q

Tips to conduct a good interview with a child to determine if child abuse occured

A
  • Use language the child can understand
  • Carefully document (verbatim) or videotape the interview
  • Use general open ended questions and ask the child to elaborate when necessary
34
Q

Research on the accuracy of recovered memories

A
  • Insufficient consensus in the scientific community for its use
  • The costs of using it outweighs the benefits
35
Q

Research on the use of anatomically correct dolls in child abuse investigations

A
  • Introduced in the 1970s and endorsed by the APA
  • Belief that children will reveal aspects of abuse that they wouldn’t verbally and the assumption that sexually abused children will engage in inappropriate sexual behavior when playing with the dolls
  • Research is mixed
  • Non standardized procedures and dolls are often used
36
Q

When do children develop the ability to know the difference between a lie and the truth

A

~3 years of age

37
Q

Social framework testimony

A

-Uses general conclusions from social science research in determining factual issues in a specific case - provides a context for jurors to evaluate the evidence - educates the jurors - clears up misconceptions

38
Q

What factors may determine how a child might react to trauma

A
  • A function of:
  • The characteristics of the event
  • Child’s temperament
  • Child’s coping ability
  • Attachment status
  • Family functioning
  • Emotional resources
  • Response of others to victim
39
Q

Profiling

A
  • A broad, hard to pin down term that covers a variety of procedures and operating assumptions
  • The way a person thinks often directs the person’s behavior
40
Q

Three approaches to profiling

A
  • Understanding the behavior and motivations of those who play a role in important events (word leaders/dictators)
  • Determining common characteristics in those who commit similar crimes
  • Extracting specific characteristics from a crime scene to create a profile of the criminal or to determine if the pattern of behaviors resemble patterns from other cases
41
Q

Psychological autopsy

A
  • An investigative method used by psychologists to help determine the mode of death
  • Determine if death was an accident, homicide, suicide etc.
42
Q

Equivocal death analysis

A

The procedures used by the FBI to determine cause of death (suuuuper secret)

43
Q

Crime scene analysis

A
  • A profile of the dynamics of the crime scene (the MO and signature of the perpetrator)
  • Helps profilers with their formulation of the case
  • Provides a collection of leads
44
Q

Linkage analysis

A
  • Often used to determine if two crimes were committed by the same person
  • Look for consistencies in crime scenes
45
Q

How is hypnosis used in forensic cases

A
  • Can be used to elicit confessions from defendants

- Help victims and witnesses remember more details of the crime

46
Q

Modus Operandi (MO)

A

How a criminal commits a particular crime

-May change over time to lower the risk of getting caught

47
Q

Signature

A
  • A usually enduring trait (what he does to each victim, in what order)
  • Reflects unique personal aspects of the criminal act
  • The individual’s reason for committing the crime
48
Q

Spree killer

A

-Killings at two or more locations with no emotional cooling off period between killings

49
Q

Serial killer

A

-3 or more separate events with a cooling off period between killings

50
Q

Mass murderer

A

-More than three victims in one location and within one event

51
Q

Organized killer

A
  • Plans murder (brings weapon)
  • Targets victim
  • Usually leaves very little evidence
  • May act out violent or sexual fantasies with victim that includes dismemberment or torture with live victim
52
Q

Disorganized killer

A
  • Uses less planning
  • Obtains victims by chance
  • Haphazard behavior during crime
  • Performs sex acts with dead victims
  • Not likely to use a vehicle to escape
53
Q

Reasons a person needs to be competent to be executed

A
  • Absence of retribution value
  • An inability of the inmate to prepare for death in coming to terms with conscience or deity
  • The experience of fear and pain without understanding
  • The diminished dignity of society
54
Q

Assumptions behind polygraph use

A

-Changes in physiological reactions in response to incriminating questions are indications that the examinee is lying

55
Q

Control question technique

A

-Ask relevant and control questions (about past behavior) - the relevant questions should produce more arousal than the control questions in a guilty person

56
Q

Relevant-irrelevant test

A

The irrelevant questions are innocuous (are you sitting down?)
-Not used much anymore

Forensic Psychology Test 1 (4 decks)

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