Evaluating Competency for Execution after Madison v. Alabama.

This article summarizes the evolution of the U.S. Supreme Court's standard for assessing defendants' competency for execution. In Ford v. Wainwright (1986), the Court categorically exempted insane defendants from execution but failed to agree on how to define insanity. In Panetti v. Quarterman (2007), the Court ruled that defendants may be executed only if they rationally understand why they are being punished. In its most recent decision, the Supreme Court ruled in Madison v. Alabama (2019) that defendants who cannot remember committing the original crime may be executed, but dementia may prevent defendants from rationally understanding why they are being punished. The Court remanded the case to Alabama's trial court with instructions to re-determine Mr. Madison's competency. This article concludes by recommending best practices for those who evaluate defendants for competency to be executed.

Evaluating Intellectual Disability after the Moore v. Texas Redux.

This article reviews the history of the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings on intellectual disability in capital cases, highlighting the difficulty states have had in devising a workable definition that meets constitutional standards. The Court's decisions in Penry v. Lynaugh (1989), Atkins v. Virginia (2002), and Hall v. Florida (2014) are briefly summarized. Next, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' ruling in Ex parte Briseno (2004) is discussed as a prelude to the Supreme Court's decision in Moore v. Texas I (2017). On remand, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals interpreted the Supreme Court's Moore I ruling in a manner that resulted in finding Mr. Moore intellectually able, and therefore eligible for the death penalty, in Ex parte Moore II (2018). Finally, the importance of the Supreme Court's most recent ruling on intellectual disability in capital cases, Moore v. Texas II (2019), is explored in depth. The article concludes with recommendations for best practices among forensic evaluators who assess capital defendants for intellectual disability.

Legal and policy issues from the United States and internationally about mandatory reporting of child abuse.

Laws that mandate reporting of child abuse have stirred global controversy. Mandatory reporting to authorities for different types of child abuse includes physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, educational neglect, and emotional neglect. While the definition of child abuse differs from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction, which covers a wide spectrum of abuse and maltreatment, employees who work in professions required to report child abuse include health care workers, educational employees, social workers, religious leaders, employees of divisions of child protective services, criminal justice and other governmental personnel, and child care professionals. Lack of a uniform definition of what constitutes child abuse causes problems for mandatory reporters, ranging from false arrest and malicious prosecution to failure to investigate ongoing child abuse. This article reviews international norms associated with mandatory reporting of child abuse and assesses court cases within the United States that involve mandatory reporting, identifying important issues and underlying problems with the current mandatory reporting system; it concludes with policy recommendations and suggestions for future research.

Semi-automated peak trapping recycle chromatography instrument for peak purity investigations.

A peak trapping recycle chromatography system has been developed and optimized for peak purity assessment of active pharmaceutical ingredients analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After being analyzed using a reversed phase analytical column, peaks of interest are trapped and are subsequently introduced to a recycle chromatography system. In addition to the increased effective length afforded the recycling system, the small selectivity difference between the analytical and recycling methods help separate potential impurities under the main peak. For more difficult to separate components, the increased efficiency of recycle chromatography provides the necessary resolution. Over 227,000 theoretical plates have been obtained in the recycle dimension for some compounds. The sensitivity of the system fell short of the target (0.1%), but it did show sensitivity (0.5%) comparable to other peak purity techniques commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry. The recovery and repeatability have also been shown to be adequate for peak purity assessment. The system has also been automated using a Visual Basic macro, simplifying the interface allowing it to be used as an open access instrument.

Imprisoned drug offenders in Taiwan: a gender-based analysis.

Using data collected from a 1999 nationwide survey of 700 incarcerated drug users in Taiwan, this article compares gender differences with respect to childhood experiences, family characteristics, drug use patterns, and criminal histories. The results from both bivariate and logistic regression analyses document some gender differences and offer tentative support for feminist views. Overall, female drug offenders in Taiwan were more likely to have spouses with alcohol or drug use-associated problems, experience physical or sexual abuse, grow up in non-two-parent households, and hold temporary and stereotypical female jobs, including prostitution. Compared to men, although female drug offenders reported earlier involvement in criminal activities, they were less violent and had fewer prior arrests. As for sources, women relied on friends or acquaintances to procure their drugs. No gender differences were identified with respect to illicit drug type or duration and frequency of use.