National Survey of the Frequency and Success of the Insanity Plea and Alternate Pleas

The 50 states and the District of Columbia were surveyed for the operative insanity rule and frequency and success of the insanity plea and related alternate pleas. These data were compared with data collected for the year 1983. As in the earlier report, there seems to be a dearth of information about the use and success of the pleas. The information that is available is quite varied. There is a discussion of why basic data may not be available and what information is needed in order to have a basic understanding of the use of the insanity plea and alternate pleas.