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Defending the Unabomber: Anosognosia in Schizophrenia

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Abstract

The use of recent psychiatric research in the defense of the `Unabomber' (United States vs. Theodore Kaczynski) is a compelling example of how the gap between research and practice can have profound consequences on the practice of forensic psychiatry, psychology and the judicial process. In this case, educating the lawyers and the court about the research on poor insight in schizophrenia changed the defense strategy and ultimately the course of the trial.

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Amador, X.F., Paul-Odouard, R. Defending the Unabomber: Anosognosia in Schizophrenia. Psychiatr Q 71, 363–371 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004688324430

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