Forensic Psychology
So what does a forensic psychologist do, exactly?
Back in 1974, a man named Alvin Ford was convicted of murder in Florida and sentencted to death. Over the next 10 years, the man became certifiably crazy -- paranoid schizophrenia, they diagnosed. He started referring to himself as Pope John Paul III. He claimed to have personally thwarted Ku Klux Klan efforts to bury dead prisoners inside the jail. He even went so far as to personally appoint his own set of justices to Florida's Supreme Court.
Despite the diagnosis by a panel of psychologists, the governor of Florida signed the death warrant anyway.
Bridging Psychology and Criminal Justice
The convicted man sued all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which finally confirmed that a civilized nation such as ours should not be in the business of executing the insane. Their view was that it served no penological purpose. Not only that, the Court said, but the governor could not single-handedly decide whether or not to take into account the psychologists' findings before signing death warrants. The full court would make that call, with the full protections, testimony and cross examination of psychologists that you see in a full-blown trial. This was a decision that assured, once and for all, the critical job that forensic psychologists do in our court system: bridging the gap between psychology and the criminal justice system.
But the forensic psychologist's authority extends beyond just fitness to stand trial. Even if someone is deemed fit, the findings of prior mental illness, general state of mind at the time of the offense, are all factors that are taken into account based on the forensic psychologist's report. The forensics expert bases this on interviews with the defendant and his family, police reports, exposure to physical and mental abuse, exposure to traumatic events and violence, and general family medical history. The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld this right of all defendants where mental issues can play a role. After sentencing, the findings of forensic psychologists often play a big role in determining the sentence, where it must be carried out and the length. As you might imagine, the importance of these findings cannot be understated, since they are often making judgments about the future danger that convicts might pose to the public should their sentence be reduced or modified.
