NGRI plea
Legal plea where defendant claims not guilty by reason of insanity, requiring forensic psychiatric evaluation.
Full Definition
A formal legal plea entered by a defendant claiming they were mentally ill at the time of the offense and therefore not criminally responsible. This plea triggers comprehensive forensic psychiatric evaluation to assess the defendant's mental state during the commission of the alleged crime. The evaluation must establish both the presence of severe mental illness and its direct impact on the defendant's understanding of wrongfulness or ability to conform conduct to legal requirements. Success of this plea typically results in commitment to a secure psychiatric facility rather than incarceration.
Usage
Usage note: Always capitalize as NGRI when used as abbreviation; spell out on first reference.
In Context
- "The defense attorney filed an NGRI plea after the defendant's psychiatric evaluation revealed active psychosis during the incident." — legal filing
- "Forensic psychiatrists must carefully document the nexus between mental illness and criminal behavior when evaluating NGRI pleas." — evaluation report