Assessment on the criminal responsibility of drug-induced mental disorders: a questionnaire survey / 法医学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#To understand the assessment on the criminal responsibility of drug-induced mental disorders and judicial experts' opinions.@*METHODS@#The judicial experts from institutes of forensic psychiatry in Shanghai were selected. They were asked to finish a self-made questionnaire of assessment on the criminal responsibility of drug-induced mental disorders by letters and visits.@*RESULTS@#Most of experts knew the special regulation, "not suitable for evaluation" towards the criminal responsibility of drug-induced mental disorders of the guideline promulgated by Ministry of Justice. Before and after the guideline was issued, no expert made a no-responsibility opinion in such cases. After the guideline was issued, some experts made a full-responsibility or limited-responsibility opinion in such cases. There was a little disagreement among the experts in the case that the crime was unrelated with mental symptoms or the criminals used drugs even though he knew it could induced insanity. But there were still many obvious disagreements among experts in the case that crime was related to such symptoms and person was no ability to debate. Most experts agreed to settle the disagreements with improved legislative perfection.@*CONCLUSION@#Most experts are not strictly complying with the assessment guidelines during their practice, and there is still an obvious disagreement towards the criminal responsibility of drug-induced mental disorders.