The British Journal of Psychiatry 132: 598-601 (1978)
© 1978 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
Insanity in bar of trial in Scotland: a State Hospital study
D Chiswick
Legal findings of unfitness to stand trial are returned ten times more
frequently in Scotland than in England and Wales. Sixty-five patients in
the State Hospital who had been found insane in bar of trial were compared
with a control group of 64 offender patients. They showed a significantly
greater incidence of homicidal crimes and diagnoses of psychotic disorders,
19 per cent of which later proved to be unstable. They had also been
detained longer at the State Hospital. These findings are discussed and
particular reference is made to the tendency for psychotic offenders to be
almost automatically regarded as unfit to plead. A brief comparison is made
with the situation in England, and some modifications in forensic
psychiatric procedure are suggested.