Legal Issues: Forensic Psychologists and Nacro Analysis

Describe the narco analysis along with its disadvantages? The term Narco-Analysis was derived from the Greek word narkç which mean "anesthesia" or "torpor". It is also referred to as the “Truth serum”. The word narco-analysis was invented by Horseley. Narco analysis Idea was 1st used in Texas on two prisoners. "Truth serum" is used as to gain the information from prisoners or any people who are not ready to give any information or facts or any details regarding the well being of the community under any circumstances. Some of the names of the macro drugs or physio -active drugs are ethanol, scopolamine, midazolam, flunitrazepam, etc. Narco Analysis in India- A few countries, like the US, Russia, France, India most surprisingly, still continue to use narco analysis. Using of narcoanalysis has brought much criticism in India by the public and Media. Narco analysis is not legally permitted for investigation purposes in the developed and democratic country.

The narco analysis test is done by a team consists of an anesthesiologist, a psychiatrist, a forensic- psychologist, a videographer, and supporting staff, in India. For verifying if the said subject is said to be true, some other tests are also done as brain mapping or its signal, then the psychologist makes the reports of the answers or revealed answers given by the subject and proof it. India mostly uses this technique macro analysis often in high-profile cases. Examples of such high-class cases are 1. Ajmal Kasab the only person got captured by the police in 2008 attacks in Mumbai Kasab was a Pakistani aggressor and a member of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group. He was interrogated but when he refused to answer than the truth serum technique was applied to him. After that on 3 May 2010, Kasab was found guilty of his offenses including murder, creating a war against India, destroying cities by explosives, and other charges. On 6 May 2010, the court sentenced him to death. Narco Analysis from Constitutional & Legal Stand Points The main provision regarding crime investigation and trial in the Indian Constitution is Art. 20(3). It deals with the special right against self-incrimination. It has its equivalents in the Magna Carta, the Talmud, and the law of almost every civilized country. The special right against `self-incrimination is a fundamental principle of the Common law criminal constitution. The characteristic features of this principle are- -The accused is thought to be innocent, -That it is for the prosecution to establish his guilt, and -That the accused need not make any statement against his will. -These propositions emerge from an apprehension that if compulsory examination of an accused were to be permitted then force and torture may be used against him to entrap him into fatal contradictions. Art. 20(3) which embody this right reads, “No person accused of any offense shall be compelled to be a witness against himself” On analysis, this provision will be found to contain the following components: -It is a right available to a person “accused of an offence”; -It is a protection against such “compulsion” “to be a witness”; -It is a protection against such “compulsion” resulting in his giving evidence against himself. All the three ingredients must necessarily coexist before the protection of Art 20(3) can be claimed. If any of these ingredients is missing, Art. 20(3) cannot be invoked. Disadvantages of macro analysis The application of the narco-analysis test involves the rudimentary question regarding judicial matters and also to Human Rights.

The legal position of applying this technique as an investigative tool raises very literal issues like the intrusion of an individual’s rights, liberties, and freedom. Subjecting the accused to go under this technique can cause the chaos and blatant violation of Art. 20(3) of Constitution.

It also goes against the motto ‘Nemo Tenetur use Ipsum Accusare’ that is, ‘No man, not even the accused himself can be compelled to answer any question, which may tend to prove him guilty of a crime, he has been accused of’. If the confession from the accused is given from any state of unconsciousness (be it under a hypnotic state of mind) it should stand to be rejected by the court. Section 45 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 does allow experts’ opinions in certain cases. It reads: “When the court has to form an opinion upon a point of foreign law, or of science, or art, or as to identity of handwriting or finger impression, the opinions upon that point or persons especially skilled in such foreign law, or of science, or art, or as to identity of handwriting or finger impressions are relevant.

The right against forced self-incrimination, widely known as the Right to Silence is included in the Code of Criminal Procedure (Crpc) and the Indian Constitution. Explain the expert witness. Definition of witness:- A Witness is a person who gives evidence regarding the cases he saw or in other ways. Types of witness:- there are two types of witness. 1. Common witness. 2. Expert witness. Common witness:- also can call as Occurrence witness, means a person who has seen or observed the evidence by himself or perceived it by himself. Expert witness :- Expert witness is a person who is highly trained , experienced, qualified, professional, proficient, practised, accomplished, expert, skilful, master, dexterous, in technical and scientific knowledge, subject capable of belief, judgement, thoughts or angle in thinking , drawing opinions and conclusion from the facts seen by herself/himself , or seen by / noticed by other persons related to the case. For example like Doctor, Expert, Fingerprints Expert, Handwriting Expert, Firearms etc. section 45, INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT(1872).

An expert witness can volunteer a Statement. He/She can draw the inference from observations. He/She is highly responsible if giving his or her consent. An expert witness can be severely punished for giving the false statement in some countries, but still, it is punishable. An expert witness can claim the conduct money. An expert can give his judgment or opinion:

1. On the matters regarding the common matters.

2. On the facts which are either proved earlier or proved by himself, or confessor revealed or other witnesses at the trail.

3. On the questions based on the assumptions (or hypothetical questions). He/She, after thinking or pertaining the thoughts or assumes the certain facts of the evidence or describing the specific or different situations of the case without even the first handed knowledge for the case in the Hypothetical case. History The starting to have known of the use of an expert witness in English law came in 1782. When a court that was hearing the legal action of the related to the chocked or blocked of well’s harbor in Norfolk. The court accepted proof from a civil engineer, John Smeaton.

The decision taken by the court, to accept the evidence from the engineer has started the new modern law to take place and used as an expert witness. Role of expert witnesses Experts are relied on for the suggestions and opinions of how much the injury is deep, which type of weapon could have been used for the attack etc. He/she can suggest by seeing the area of murder or any case, that the murder or any case was done in that area or not, and if the accused has been trying to camouflage them or to mislead them. Duties of experts In high-risk cases, multiple experts, different topics, or multiple topics are often countered by each party. Although it is very rare, the court can or may also retain its own independent expert.

Expert evidence is often the most important component of many civil and criminal cases today. Fingerprint examination, blood analysis and DNA fingerprinting are common kinds of expert evidence heard in serious criminal cases. In civil cases, the work of accident analysis, forensic engineers, and forensic accountants are usually are seen. Intellectual property and medical negligence cases are typical examples. Electronic evidence has also been approved by the court as forensic evidence. Audio and video evidence must be authenticated by both parties in any action or legal process by a forensic expert who is also an expert to assist and to provide that the proof which is shown is correct or not. Voice-mail recordings and closed-circuit television systems produce electronic evidence often used in litigation, more so today than in the past.

Video recordings of bank robberies also help. Give any Case study or case example and mention how forensic psychology or criminal profiling was important in solving that case. Theodore Robert Bundy was an American serial killer, Abduct/capture/kidnapper, rapist, Housebreaking/ thievery, thief, and necrophile who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. He was born on November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989. Shortly before his execution and after more than a decade of denials, he confessed to 30 homicides that he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. The true victim count will forever be unknown and could be much higher than the number to which Bundy confessed.

Many of Bundy's young female victims regarded him as handsome and charismatic, which were traits that he exploited to win their trust. He would typically approach them in public places, feigning injury or disability, or impersonating an authority figure, before overpowering and assaulting them at more secluded locations. He sometimes revisited his secondary crime scenes for hours at a time, grooming and performing sexual acts with the decomposing corpses until putrefaction and destruction by wild animals made further interaction impossible. He decapitated at least 12 of his victims, and for a period of time, he kept some of the severed heads as mementos in his apartment.

On a few occasions, he simply broke into dwellings at night and bludgeoned his victims as they slept. Examination Done By The Psychologist. Bundy underwent multiple psychiatric examinations; the experts' conclusions varied. Dorothy Otnow Lewis, Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine and an authority on violent behavior, initially made a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, but later changed her impression more than once. She also suggested the possibility of a multiple personality disorder, based on behaviors described in interviews and court testimony: a great-aunt witnessed an episode during which Bundy "seemed to turn into another, unrecognizable person ... [she] suddenly, inexplicably found herself afraid of her favorite nephew as they waited together at a dusk-darkened train station. He had turned into a stranger." Lewis recounted a prison official in Tallahassee describing a similar transformation: "He said, 'He became weird on me.' He did a metamorphosis, a body, and facial change, and he felt there was almost an odor emitting from him. He said, 'Almost a complete change of personality ... that was the day I was afraid of him.'" While experts found Bundy's precise diagnosis elusive, the majority of evidence pointed away from bipolar disorder or other psychoses, and toward antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).

Bundy displayed many personality traits typically found in ASPD patients (who are often identified as "sociopaths" or "psychopaths, such as outward charm and charisma with little true personality or genuine insight beneath the facade; the ability to distinguish right from wrong, but with minimal effect on behavior; and an absence of guilt or remorse. "Guilt doesn't solve anything, really", Bundy said, in 1981. "It hurts you ... I guess I am in the enviable position of not having to deal with guilt." There was also evidence of narcissism, poor judgment, and manipulative behavior. "Sociopaths", prosecutor George Dekle wrote, "are egotistical manipulators who think they can con anybody." "Sometimes he manipulates even me", admitted one psychiatrist. In the end, Lewis agreed with the majority: "I always tell my graduate students that if they can find me a real, true psychopath, I'll buy them dinner", she told Nelson. "I never thought they existed ... but I think Ted may have been one, a true psychopath, without any remorse or empathy at all." Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) has been proposed as an alternative diagnosis in at least one subsequent retrospective analysis.

On the afternoon before he was executed, Bundy granted an interview to James Dobson, a psychologist and founder of the Christian evangelical organization Focus on the Family. He used the opportunity to make new statements about violence in the media and the pornographic "roots" of his crimes. "It happened in stages, gradually", he said. "My experience with ... pornography that deals on a violent level with sexuality are once you become addicted to it ... I would keep looking for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of material. Until you reach a point where the pornography only goes so far ... where you begin to wonder if maybe actually doing it would give that which is beyond just reading it or looking at it." Violence in the media, he said, "particularly sexualized violence", sent boys "down the road to being Ted Bundys." The FBI, he suggested, should stake out adult movie houses and follow patrons as they leave. "You are going to kill me," he said, "and that will protect society from me. But out there are many, many more people who are addicted to pornography, and you are doing nothing about that." The court order the execution Bundy was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989.

Biographer Ann Rule described him as "a sadistic sociopath who took pleasure from another human's pain and the control he had over his victims, to the point of death, and even after".He once called himself "the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet"; Attorney Polly Nelson—a member of his last defense team—wrote: "Ted was the very definition of heartless evil." What is the role and importance of forensic psychologist in the legal system? Forensic psychologists are the persons or Individuals who are instructed to apply the principles of psychology to the judiciary system. Usually, forensic psychologists are used in criminal trials to prove that whether the prisoners or the accused ’s mental state meets the required legal standards.

Forensic psychologists should have the bachelor's degree in psychology and then followed by a master's degree. Forensic psychology is a highly specialized field that requires great knowledge and understanding and observation skills. Importance of psychology Psychology is the study of people's behavior, performance, and mental operations. It also refers to the application of the knowledge, which can be used to understand events, treat mental health issues, and improve education, employment, and relationships. Roles of Psychologists in the Legal System There are different general roles for psychologists in the legal system. Psychology has a place that exists in the law (Bottoms et al., 2004). Generally, psychological researchers can impact the law in a variety of ways. Like the persons/Individuals with basic studies or researcher in its initial stages of psychology, can simply see through the pretense of the accused, if it is correct or not. Then there are applied researchers who approach the scientific problems. Basic researchers inform the justice system by increasing the available knowledge on topics such as memory, human mental action or process of obtaining knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses, and social influence.

In Applied researchers example, when critics argued that trained interrogators can analyze an accused’s not talking behavior to obtain or determine whether an accused or suspect is lying, Kassin and Fong (1999) acquired interrogator training materials, trained student observers to analyze behavior, and evaluated whether training caused observers to be more accurate. Psychological Association requires that psychologists adhere to strict guidelines and a code of conduct along with a set of principals they must follow called the APA Ethical Principals of Psychologists and Code of Conduct in 2002. Revisions have been made to these standards since then, most recently as June 1, 2010, according to McCutcheon (2002). Additional principals that are required of police and all psychologists are that they must try to do good and cause no harm to another with their knowledge called Beneficence and Nonmaleficence. “Fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, respect for other people’s rights and dignities (McCutcheon, 2002)” are required principles as well.

Competency to Stand Trial Roles of Forensic Psychologists Competency to Stand Trial A threshold issue in any criminal case is whether the defendant has the mental capacity to stand trial and face his accuser. A forensic psychologist is often chosen to perform a competency evaluation on the defendant to determine whether he will be able to consult with his lawyer, maintain a reasonable degree of understanding of the proceedings or otherwise assist in his defense. The psychologist will evaluate the defendant to determine, if applicable, the cause of incompetency, required treatment, availability of treatment, whether the defendants meets the criteria for involuntary commitment to a mental facility and the likelihood the defendant will be able to stand trial after receiving treatment. These findings are submitted to the judge in an official report followed by a competency hearing. Therapeutic Services Therapeutic services may be offered by a forensic psychologist involved in the practice area of forensic treatment.

Counseling services are offered to those currently incarcerated for violent or sexually motivated crimes and may also involve counseling for those inmates causing problems within the prison. According to the National Association of Forensic Counselors, therapy can be helpful in reducing recidivism rates and in helping inmates who are also dealing with substance abuse issues. Psychological Autopsy A forensic psychological autopsy is postmortem mental state evaluation of the deceased and involves a data evaluation of the subject's mental health records. All-About-Forensic-Psychology.com cites these autopsies as useful when the cause of death is unknown, which can occur in up to 20 percent of cases referred to the medical examiner. The forensic psychological autopsy will include a review of biographical information, family history, policy records, personal diaries, relationships, substance dependencies or sources of stress. State of Mind In any criminal case, the defendant must have the requisite state of mind to be found guilty of all elements of a crime. In other words, most crimes contain an "intent" requirement that limits the finding of guilt to defendants who, prior to committing the act, made up their mind to commit the crime. This area can become controversial in some cases where the defendant may have been suffering from a mental condition at the time of the crime, making it impossible for him to form the required intent. This can also come into play when a defendant was intoxicated or under duress during the crime.

The forensic psychologist will review the evidence and the patient's history so as to testify before the court as to whether the defendant had the capacity to form criminal intent. In criminal profiling what you think the reliable technique is and why? Offender profiling Offender profiling, also known as criminal profiling, is an investigative tool used by law enforcement agencies to identify likely suspects (descriptive offender profiling) and analyze patterns that may predict future offenses and victims (predictive offender profiling). Offender profiling dates back to 1888 and the spree of Jack the Ripper and the profiling theory describes how profiling will ideally work. It is a tool that is believed to have been originally adapted and utilized by the FBI.

Current applications include predictive profiling, sexual assault offender profiling, and case linkage (using profiling to identify common factors in offenses and to help with suspect identification). Profiling is criticised as "racial stereotyping" or political targeting, where political and ethnic differences have a bearing. Goals and simple steps Goals of criminal profiling include providing law enforcement with a social and psychological assessment of the offender; providing a "psychological evaluation of belongings found in the possession of the offender" (p. 10); and offering suggestions and strategies for the interviewing process. Ainsworth (2001) identified four main approaches to offender profiling: geographical, investigative psychology, typological, and clinical profiling. Definitions Offender profiling is a method of identifying the most likely type of person that could have committed a crime based on evidence and information found at the crime scene along with specific characteristics of the crime itself. Turvey once described criminal profiling as ‘’making interfaces about the physical, habitual, emotional, psychological, and even vocational characteristics of criminals’’. It is not a method for finding the specific person who committed the crime, instead, it describes the type of person that most likely committed the crime.

Various aspects of the criminal's personality makeup are determined from the choices before, during, and after the crime. This information is combined with other relevant details and physical evidence and then compared with the characteristics of known personality types and mental abnormalities to develop a practical working description of the offender. Psychological profiling may be described as a method of suspect identification which seeks to identify a person's mental, emotional, and personality characteristics (as manifested in things done or left at the crime scene). There are two major assumptions made when it comes to offender profiling: behavioral consistency and homology. Behavior consistency is the use of linkage analysis in order to find similar cases that have little evidence and link them to one offender because of the similarities that are present. Homology is the idea that similar crimes are committed by similar offenders that possess similar characteristics. History In modern criminology, offender profiling is generally considered the "third wave" of investigative science.

The first wave was the study of clues, pioneered by Scotland Yard in the 19th century, the second wave was the study of crime itself (frequency studies and the like), and this third wave is the study of the psyche of the criminal. Profiling techniques existed as early as the Middle Ages, with the inquisitors trying to "profile" heretics. The first offender profile was assembled by detectives of the Metropolitan Police on the personality of Jack the Ripper, a serial killer who had murdered a series of prostitutes in the 1880s.

Police surgeon Thomas Bond was asked to give his opinion on the extent of the murderer's surgical skill and knowledge. Bond's assessment was based on his own examination of the most extensively mutilated victim and the post mortem notes from the four previous canonical murders.