From: utzoo!decvax!cca!hplabs!soreff@sri-unix
Newsgroups: net.misc
Title: Re: Replying about Hinkley Re: utzoo!Laura among others.
Article-I.D.: hplabs.530
Posted: Mon Jul 12 08:58:55 1982
Received: Tue Jul 13 05:59:16 1982

In reply to the question "By what method can society prevent a sane, but ill
intending, person from using the insanity defense to that person's aid, while
still maintaining a haven for the truly ill?":
This depends to a large extent on whether one believes that people cluster into
discernably ill and healthy groups. If one believes this, then the problem 
seems to be in the technology of diagnosis. If we had lab tests for mental
illness which involved evidence that was very difficult to fake (blood 
chemisry, CAT scan results, EEGs etc.) then the problem would be much less 
severe. If one doesn't believe that people are usually clearly healthy or
clearly ill, then one can't avoid setting an arbitrary threshold somewhere.
There is a more stringent test for diagnostics to be used in a trial than
for use in ordinary diagnosis. Rather than testing the tests on known ill 
and healthy populations, one must test them on known ill and healthy populati
attempting to feign illness.