Mitigator or Mad Dog: An Examination of Mentally Ill Mitigating Factors Among Death Eligible Offenders

• In Event: Mitigation in Capital Cases

Abstract

Mentally ill and emotionally disturbed offenders comprise a significant component of those whose criminal conduct has swept them into the criminal justice system, including a subset who are tried and convicted of capital murder. While the insane may be found not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill and others may lack sufficient capacity to be advanced to trial, most are processed by the system. Yet their level of emotional or mental disturbance should mitigate against a severe punishment. The present study employs the population of capital cases advanced to penalty phase in the state of North Carolina (1977 - 2009) to examine the extent, if any, for which the offenders mental condition effectively mitigates against a sentence of death. Moreover this study also examines the extent to which this form of mitigation is either racially or gender invariant. To address these questions, the study employs a mixed-methods approach to the analysis of the data.

Authors

• Lauren Miley, University of South Florida

• Ellie Heiss-Moses, University of South Florida

• John Cochran, University of South Florida

• M. Dwayne Smith, University of South Florida

• Sondra Fogel, University of South Florida

• Beth Bjerregaard, University of North Carolina at Charlotte