Documenting a Suspect’s State of Mind
Publication year:
2012
| Cataloged on:
Feb. 04, 2013
ANNOTATION: With the new requirements for documentation resulting from the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) and other state mandates, those correctional officers that investigate violent crimes and allegations of prison rape need to be aware of the procedure explained in this article. These officers “typically obtain as many details as possible from suspects about actions committed during the crime. However, these details do not always include relevant information about a defendant’s mental state, and such omissions may introduce uncertainties that make mental defenses more likely to arise and succeed … the author offers investigators an interview protocol to assist them in documenting the critical issues regarding a suspect’s state of mind at the time of the offense and the confession [if one is made], thus preparing them for positive battles in the courtroom” (p. 1). The Dietz Mental State Interview Protocol is an essential tool for the investigating officer to use.
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