Personality disorders and 'restoration to sanity'.
H. C. Osran and L. E. Weinberger,
Bull. Amer. Acad. Psychiatry & the Law
22(2): 257-67, 1994.
Historically, the use of the insanity defense has been limited although not exclusively to those with
a psychotic mental disorder at the time of the crime. Occasionally, an insanity acquittee may
primarily suffer from a personality disorder at the time of commitment to the psychiatric hospital.
Such examples can include someone with a personality disorder who malingers psychosis and legal
insanity or who at the time of the crime may have been suffering from a drug-induced or brief
reactive psychosis. One such case will be presented as well as dilemmas created for the clinician and
forensic evaluator. In addition, pertinent medical and psychological literature and legal case
precedents will be discussed. Finally, a proposed guideline for the treatment and evaluation of the
personality-disordered insanity acquittee will be offered, focusing specifically on the aspects of the
personality disorder that contribute to the individual's dangerousness. [References: 24]