Courtroom Drama Portrayals of Offender Mental Illness

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

This study focuses on fictional courtroom drama portrayals of offender’s mental illness. Analyzing full seasons of several popular primetime courtroom dramas, analyses include how frequently offenders were portrayed as having a mental illness, which illnesses are most commonly portrayed, whether or not a psychologist was used during trial for expert testimony, and whether a mental illness defense was successful in achieving either a GBMI or NGRI verdict. Results are then compared to actual prevalence of mental illness amongst offenders and success of GBMI and NGRI defenses in trials.

Authors

• Dylan Workowski, Austin Peay State University

• Sarah Gwynne Whiteford, Austin Peay State University