Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:608-613
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Posttraumatic stress disorder as an insanity defense: medicolegal quicksand
LF Sparr and RM Atkinson
A growing awareness of posttraumatic stress disorder has led to recent use
of the disorder as a legal defense against criminal responsibility for both
violent and nonviolent crimes. Diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder
is difficult because the symptoms are mostly subjective, often nonspecific,
usually well publicized, and, therefore, relatively easy to imitate.
Accurate psychiatric testimony in such cases requires diligent searching
for collateral sources of information. The authors argue that the insanity
defense is appropriate only in the rare instance that a dissociative
episode related to posttraumatic stress disorder directly leads to criminal
activity.
