Crime, punishment, and mental illness : law and the behavioral sciences in conflict / Patricia E. Erickson, Steven K. Erickson.

New Brunswick, N.J. ; London : Rutgers University Press, [2008], ©2008.

xv, 218 pages ; 23 cm.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 195-209) and index.

The social construction of mental illness as a criminal justice problem -- Systems of social control: from asylums to prisons -- Competency to stand trial and competency to be executed -- The problems with the insanity defense: the conflict between law and psychiatry -- The "mad" or "bad" debate concerning sex offenders -- Juvenile offenders, developmental competency, and mental illness -- Criminalizing mental illness: does it matter?