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Excited Delirium—the Diagnosis That Doesn’t Exist
Loaded on May 15, 2022
by Brooke Kaufman
published in Criminal Legal News
June, 2022, page 16
Filed under:
Police Misconduct,
Police--Excessive Force,
Mental Health.
Location:
United States of America.
How a racialized, gendered theory became the go-to defense for police officers who kill people in custody
by Brooke Kaufman
The term “excited delirium,” or agitated delirium, first entered legal discourse in the 1980s. Dr. Charles Wetli and Dr. David Fishbain used the theory to explain the sudden deaths of …
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More from this issue:
- A House Built on Discriminatory Sand, by Anthony Accurso
- Jury Nullification: The People’s Tool Against Bad Laws and Bad Legal Actors, by J.D. Schmidt
- New RECOVER Fingerprint Technology Used to Solve 1983 Cold Case, by Casey Bastian
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Post-Filing Procedures in Seeking Habeas Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Excited Delirium—the Diagnosis That Doesn’t Exist, by Brooke Kaufman
- New York Court of Appeals: Frye Hearing Required to Determine Admissibility of DNA Evidence Generated by Proprietary Forensic Statistical Tool, by Douglas Ankney
- Use of Controversial Phone-Cracking Tool Is Spreading Across Federal Government, by Mara Hvistendahl, Sam Biddle
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Must Receive Parole Agency’s Written Report Before Ruling on Parole Revocation Petition for Lifetime Parolee Despite Remand to Prison Being Mandatory, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Supreme Court: IAC Where Defense Counsel Failed to Request Instruction on Defense-of-Others for Nonassaultive Offense of Home Invasion, Orders New Trial, by David Reutter
- West Virginia Supreme Court: Defendant Who Provided False Information to Detective Who Failed to Identify Himself as Police Officer Has No Duty to Cure False Statement Upon Learning Detective Is a Police Officer, by Douglas Ankney
- Maine Now Requires Criminal Conviction Before Property May Be Forfeited, by Douglas Ankney
- Tenth Circuit: Judgment of Conviction Becomes Final for § 2255 SOL Purposes Upon Conclusion of Direct Review of Deferred Restitution, by Douglas Ankney
- New Hampshire Supreme Court: Warrant Required to Enter Walled-In Porch Attached to Mobile Home, by Anthony Accurso
- Second Circuit: Multi-Object Drug Conspiracy Involving Crack and Other Drugs Eligible for First Step Act Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Sixth Circuit: No Abuse of Discretion in U.S. District Courts Imposing Habeas Remedy Different Than That Required Under State Law, by Dale Chappell
- Book Review: ‘The PLRA Handbook: Law and Practice Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’ by John Boston, by Matthew Clarke
- SCOTUS Announces § 1983 Malicious Prosecution Claim’s ‘Favorable Determination’ Requirement Satisfied by Showing Prosecution Ended Without a Conviction, by Richard Resch
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Depraved-Mind Murder Requires Mental State of Generalized Indifference to Human Life, Which Cannot Exist Where Defendant Kills With Particularity, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit: Evidence Withheld by Prosecutor Opens Door for Successive Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
- Martinsville Seven Pardoned 70 Years After Execution, by Anthony Accurso
- SCOTUS Adds Extra Obstacle to Federal Habeas Relief for State Prisoners, Ruling Both Brecht and the AEDPA Must Be Satisfied, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone No Longer Establishes Probable Cause to Conduct Warrantless Vehicle Search, by Douglas Ankney
- ABA Says Oregon Needs 1,296 More Public Defenders, by Mark Wilson
- New Yorkers With Criminal Record Struggle for Approval to Rent Homes, by Ashleigh Dye
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Prospectively Testimony by Drug Recognition Expert Requires State to Comply With Expert Witness Disclosure Requirements of Rule 16(b)(7), by Douglas Ankney
- Filmmaker Got Back His $69,000 ‘Stolen’ by DEA Agent, Plus a $15,000 Settlement, by Harold Hempstead
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Dismissal of Charge Based on Express Statement of ‘Insufficient Evidence’ Is Equivalent to Acquittal for § 1170.95 Resentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- When Your Criminal Case Is Dropped, But Your Mugshot Lives Forever, by Julie Levitch
- First Study of Police De-Escalation Training Shows Impressive Results, by Douglas Ankney
- Costs of Untested Rape Kits, by Jayson Hawkins
- News in Brief
More from Brooke Kaufman:
- Texas Police Refuse to Release Bodycam Footage From the Uvalde School Shooting, Claiming It Could Expose Law Enforcement ‘Weakness’, June 16, 2022
- FOIA Request Reveals Cincinnati Cop Had Sex While On-Duty With Sex Workers He Searched in Police Database, June 12, 2022
- DOJ Secures Settlement With South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice at Detention Center Where Staff Hogtied and Bit Kids, June 1, 2022
- “On-Going Distress and Harm” Persist at FCI Sheridan Months After Court-Ordered Inspection, June 1, 2022
- Be “Good Bitches”: New Mexico Prisoners Sue Over Sexually Degrading Abuse, May 16, 2022
- Spring COVID-19 Outbreak Sickens Hundreds at Washington State Prisons, May 16, 2022
- Excited Delirium—the Diagnosis That Doesn’t Exist, May 15, 2022
- Florida Sheriff’s Version of Fiscal Responsibility— ‘We Prefer’ Homeowners Shoot Burglars to ‘Save Taxpayer Money’, May 1, 2022
- Bribery and Drug Charges Results in 8 Year Sentence for Former Corrupt NYPD Officer, May 1, 2022
- Dozens of Convictions Related to Corrupt Convicted Former Chicago Cop Vacated, May 1, 2022
More from these topics:
- CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care, Aug. 1, 2025. Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Sixth Circuit Upholds $45 Million Verdict for Wrongfully Convicted Former Ohio Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Two Exonerated Illinois Prisoners Win Settlements Totaling $14.5 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Wrongful Conviction Claim of Exonerated Maryland Prisoner, State Pays Him $3.1 Million, Aug. 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Wrongful Conviction, Wrongful Imprisonment.
- News in Brief, Aug. 1, 2025. Assault by Police, Misconduct/Corruption, Guard Misconduct, Police Misconduct, Stun Guns/Tasers, Immigration, False Arrest, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Beyond the City Limits: How Rural Sheriff’s Departments Are Driving the Spike in Police Killings, Aug. 1, 2025. Excessive Force, Shootings, Police--Excessive Force, Excessive Force (Police).
- Arkansas Ex-Police Chief Known as “Devil in the Ozarks” Re-Captured After Prison Escape, July 15, 2025. Police Misconduct, Jail Misconduct, Escapes.
- News in Brief, July 1, 2025. Misconduct/Corruption, Pepper Spray/Tear Gas, Shootings, Dogs, Police--Excessive Force, Brady Violations, Home Search, Bribery/Extortion/Theft, Brady Rule violations, Perjury/Perjured Testimony.
- How Police Departments Hire Bad Cops: The Shadow System Protecting ‘Wandering Officers’, July 1, 2025. Police Misconduct, Government Misconduct, Police/Govt Misconduct.
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Mental Health.





