ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the last of the experimental variables by testing the jury’s concern with the consequence of an NGI verdict. In ordinary criminal trials, the consequences of the jury’s choice are relatively clear. It may find the defendant guilty of the crime for which he is charged, or in some cases of a lesser offense. In most states and federal jurisdictions, a person who is acquitted on grounds of insanity will be confined to a mental institution he recovers or is restored to sanity, and in many jurisdictions commitment is automatic. The presence or absence of commitment information had no noticeable effect on the individuals’ or the juries’ verdicts. The almost even division among the jurors who favored a verdict of guilty between imprisonment and commitment to a mental institution is an important point. It indicates that there are jurors who favor “treatment” for persons whom they believe are “responsible” within the formal requirement of the law.
