Am J Psychiatry 1980; 137:1098-1100
Copyright © 1980 by American Psychiatric Association
Treatment of persons found incompetent to stand trial
L Pendleton
Persons found incompetent to stand trial comprise the largest group of
psychiatric patients committed to mental hospitals through the criminal
justice system in the United States. The law dictates that these patients
receive short-term treatment aimed specifically at enabling them to stand
trial with as little delay as possible. The author describes the treatment
and assessment aspects of a program that admits approximately 200
trial-incompetent persons each year. During 1978, 90% of the 205 patients
discharged from this program were certified by the treatment staff as
competent to stand trial; 97.5% of that group subsequently completed the
trial process.
