Citation

Hochstedler Steury E, Choinski M, Steury SR. Bull. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law 1996; 24(3): 319-331.

Affiliation

Huadong University, Shanghai, China.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1996, American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

8889132

Abstract

This study is a test of the so-called subversion hypothesis, which posits that mentally disordered persons who commit minor offenses are prosecuted primarily for the purpose of imposing mental health treatment on them through evaluation and treatment for incompetency to stand trial. These persons, according to the subversion hypothesis, find themselves in the criminal process because they do not meet the stringent civil commitment standards, but do meet the less stringent criteria for a disorderly conduct prosecution. The findings, based on 893 disorderly conduct prosecutions in a single jurisdiction over a two-year period, do not lend general support to the subversion hypothesis.

Language: en