A Study of Criminal Defendants Adjudicated Non-Restorable to Competency to Stand Trial
Snyder, M. M., Fradella, H. F., Shafer, M. S., & Ashford, J. B. (2020). A study of criminal defendants adjudicated non-restorable to competency to stand trial in a rural southwestern county. Criminal Law Practitioner, 5(2), 6–53.
80 Pages Posted: 15 Sep 2020
Date Written: August 3, 2020
Abstract
This study examines the demographic, clinical, and criminal characteristics of ninety-nine felony defendants in a primarily rural county in Arizona who were referred for clinical evaluation for competency to stand trial. Ninety-two of these people had their competency status adjudicated during the time period relevant to the study, sixty of whom were ultimately restored to competency and thirty-two of whom were determined to be non-restorable to competency. Of those in the latter group, most had serious mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities. Additionally, nineteen (59.4%) of the non-restorable defendants were referred for civil commitment proceedings, all but seven of whom were ultimately ordered into involuntary treatment. Only three (3) of the ninety-nine defendants in the study re-offended and were referred back into a restoration of competency program during a five-year period.
Keywords: competency to stand trial, civil commitment
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