You are here

Executing the Mentally Ill
Share

Executing the Mentally Ill
The Criminal Justice System and the Case of Alvin Ford



September 1993 | 216 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Based on the case of Alvin Ford, an American death row inmate, this thought-provoking book focuses on the issues raised when the criminal justice system attempts to apply the death penalty to the mentally impaired.

Issues addressed include: the definition of mental illness for the purposes of exemption from execution; the evaluation of competence for execution by mental health professionals; the consequences of disagreements among health professionals about a defendant's mental status; and the fate of prisoners who are exempted. Ford's unique case leads the authors to examine more general issues such as the involvement of health professionals in modern capital sentencing, as well as the administration of the death penalty in the United States today.

 
Drawing the Lines
Who Lives and Who Dies?

 
 
An Introduction to Alvin Ford
 
Family Background, the Crime, and Trial
1953-1974

 
 
Anticipating and Enduring the First Death Warrant
1975-1981

 
 
Psychological Deterioration and the Road to the Supreme Court
1982-1986

 
 
Physicians, Mental Health Professionals, and the Death Penalty
 
Alvin Ford and the Courts
Additional Issues

 
 
Competence for Execution
The Supreme Court Speaks

 
 
Back to Federal Court
The 1988 Hearing and Beyond

 
 
The Cure That Kills

For instructors

Please contact your Academic Consultant to check inspection copy availability for your course.

Select a Purchasing Option

ISBN: 9780803951501
£76.00

SAGE Knowledge is the premier social sciences platform for SAGE and CQ Press book, reference and video content.

The platform allows researchers to cross-search and seamlessly access a wide breadth of must-have SAGE book and reference content from one source.