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Throughout history, murder has been a matter of fascination and mystery. Cain slew Abel and Oedipus killed Laius, and forever afterward there have been interpretations of their reasons. Freud, of course, attributed Oedipus' act to a universal and unconscious motive. Eventually, he also created the theory of the death instinct to explain man's aggressively destructive propensity.
It seems superfluous to speak of the amount of physical aggression, violence, and homicide that is now prevalent in our society. All of us are only too aware that in all these categories the figures seem to be at an all-time high. What is perhaps not as well publicized is Steadman's (1) finding that there has been a marked increase in the number of insanity acquittals over the past 12 years, many for murder. Psychiatrists are increasingly called upon to give presumably expert evaluations of these individuals. Individuals found not guilty by reason of insanity are usually sent to public hospitals for treatment. When their release is being contemplated, considerable reliance is placed upon psychiatric opinion. It is in this context that the authors have had the opportunity to examine carefully 10 acquitted murderers in state psychiatric facilities and to write reports expressing opinions regarding their suitability for release or their need for continued inpatient hospitalization. These reports were written in order to assist the court in arriving at a decision regarding each individual case.
Our evaluations were based on careful chart reviews, including psychological testing, discussions with the treating hospital staff, and direct psychiatric examinations of the subjects. The amount of time spent reviewing these cases ranged from 6 to 18 hours. It is critical when making these