Court-mandated community outpatient treatment for persons found not guilty by reason of insanity: a five-year follow-up

Abstract

The authors conducted a 5-year follow-up study of 79 persons found not guilty by reason of insanity who were referred to and accepted for court-mandated community outpatient treatment. This was a severely mentally ill and violent group with extensive experience in both the criminal justice and mental health systems. This program was not without risks despite a readiness to revoke the patients' conditional release status when indicated; during the 5-year follow-up period, 25 (32%) were rearrested (18 [72%] for crimes of violence), 37 (47%) were hospitalized, and 38 (48%) had their conditional releases revoked. The authors believe that members of this population need social controls and long-term treatment when they are in the community.