The insanity defense: unconscionable impact on victims of violence.

• Author: Vatz, Richard E.

The September 1997 issue of The Atlantic Monthly has an unusually detailed and poignant cover story titled "A Grief Like No Other." The lengthy piece (almost 29 pages) by Eric Schlosser, winner of the 1995 National Magazine Award for reporting, describes the pain and suffering of the family members of victims of killings, particularly in cases of young victims. The article focuses largely, but not exclusively, on victims whose killers were found not guilty by reason of insanity. Schlosser reminds readers of the unanticipated impact of the insanity defense on the families of victims. He argues persuasively that much more attention and concern is accorded the "insane" killers than their victims.

The recognition that legal rules and procedures at times result in publicity for offenders at the expense of their victims often has been made by opponents of the death penalty. For example, few remember the names of Gary Gilmore's victims and few ever would have heard of the killer himself had he been sentenced to life in prison. However, because of the turmoil and legal proceedings surrounding his execution, Gilmore's name is remembered and his artwork and poems have become collectibles. Yet, even the most vocal critics of the insanity defense leave unexamined its consequences for the families of victims.

The Atlantic article contains 22 pictures of victims of killings taken at times of happiness with family and/or friends. These photographs trigger in readers a kind of shock rarely experienced when merely confronted by news stories and dry crime statistics.

As Schlosser notes, the culture of America has spawned multiple biographers for killers, but only a handful of books analyzing the situation from the victims' or their families' perspectives. Bookstores are filled with volumes -- fiction and non-fiction -- that portray the killer as the protagonist. Perhaps the fascination arises from our struggle to comprehend how a person can commit heinous crimes. Maybe it is easier to understand the grief of survivors than the brutality of their killers because we all have experienced analogous, if not identical, feelings of loss.

Schlosser notes that, during the past 25 years, hundreds of articles in psychiatric journals have examined the "homicidal mind," while fewer than a dozen have investigated the psychological effects of a murder on a victim's family. Yet, the effect is extraordinary, especially in the permanent misery and anger that is created.

In August, 1997, we interviewed Karl and Carol Reichardt, the parents of Kevin E. Reichardt, a sophomore at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1995 when he was shot and killed while riding his bike back from class. His killer, Wendell Williamson, was charged with murder, attempted murder, and firing into an occupied vehicle but the jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity on all counts.

Three psychiatrists and one psychologist agreed that Williamson was insane at the time of the killings, and testimony was provided regarding his claims of delusions. District Attorney Carl Fox urged the jury to ignore the psychiatric experts offered by the defense, telling them. "There's no test they can give to prove he's insane." Fox reminded the jury that one of the defense mental health experts even acknowledged on the stand that her conclusions about Williamson represented merely her "best guess."

Typical of experts in insanity cases, the defense psychiatrists told the jury what the defendant "felt" and about his "thoughts," rather than talking...