ABSTRACT
For those with a mental illness or mental defect, culpability may be negated by an insanity defense, which is available in all but a few states, but which varies in denition from jurisdiction to jurisdiction (AAPL Task Force 2014, S38S76). e most common factors in insanity tests are that the act was connected to a mental illness and the defendant did not know (or appreciate) the act was wrong-the “cognitive test.” Some states also have a version of a volitional testthat the defendant could not conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law. ere are other variations as well. For example, New Hampshire utilizes the “product of a mental illness” test. Insanity evaluations of adults are discussed more fully in Chapter 29 of this text.
