Case Study One Worksheet

Dr. Eduardo Romaro, a clinically trained forensic psychologist, was retained by the

prosecution to evaluate the intellectual competence of John Stone, a 50-year-old

man convicted of first-degree murder of a guard during a bank robbery. John had

claimed he was innocent throughout the trial. In the state in which the trial was

conducted, individuals convicted of such an offense face the death penalty. John’s

attorney challenged the death penalty option for his client, claiming that the defendant

is intellectually disabled. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia

(2002) that the execution of those with intellectual disability (formerly known as

mental retardation) is unconstitutional. Dr. Romaro had worked with the prosecution

before on intellectual disability cases, but this is the first time he had been

retained for a capital punishment case. He is personally ambivalent about whether

states should implement the death penalty.

Assignment: Forensic Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability

The psychologist meets John in a private room in the prison and administers a

battery of intellectual and adaptive behavior tests with proven psychometric validity

for determining forensically relevant intellectual ability. Just as he ends the formal

test administration, John becomes distraught and appears to be experiencing

an anxiety attack. In his distress the psychologist hears the prisoner repeatedly

asking God for forgiveness for killing the guard and for murdering another person,

who he keeps calling “the boy waiting for the bus.” The psychologist shifts into an

emergency crisis intervention mode to help calm the defendant and rings for assistance.

Dr. Romaro was shocked to hear John “confess” not only to the bank murder

but also to the murder of a “boy waiting for a bus.”

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition

(DSM-IV-TR) diagnosis of intellectual disability (currently termed “mental retardation

developmental disability”) requires that individuals demonstrate significantly

sub-average intellectual functioning, impairments in adaptive functioning,

and onset before 18 years of age. Similarly, the state standard for intellectual disability

includes a developmental history of intellectual impairment. Prior to testing,

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Appendix B——355

Dr. Romaro had asked the prosecutor for all available childhood mental health or

school records to determine if John meets these criteria. No formal educational

or psychological evaluations were included in the materials he received. The

records indicated that John had a poor academic record, was retained in fifth

grade, was suspended several times for coming to school drunk, and had left

school when he was 15. State criteria also include an IQ score less than 70 and

poor adaptive skills.

That evening Dr. Romaro scores the test battery. John’s IQ score is 71, his performance

on other cognitive tests fell close to the intellectual disability cutoff score

(some above, some below). His adaptive functioning score is a standard deviation

below average. However, given the prisoner’s age, without a more detailed set of

childhood records, it is difficult to clearly conclude that he meets the DSM-IV-TR

or state legal criteria for intellectual disability. Dr. Romaro had not been asked to

administer assessments for mood, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorders that

might impair intellectual and adaptive performance.

Assignment: Forensic Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability

Ethical Dilemma

Dr. Romaro is not sure what forensic opinion to give regarding whether or not

John meets the legal criteria for intellectual disability. Without evidence of intellectual

disability in his youth, a diagnosis of intellectual disability may not be possible

and, thus, could not be used to support John’s death penalty appeal. He is also

unsure whether he has an ethical responsibility to include in his report John’s

“confession” or John’s statement about the “boy waiting for a bus.”

Respond to the following questions in 300 words each question

1.     Why is this an ethical dilemma? Which APA Ethical Principles help frame the nature of the dilemma?

2.     How might Dr. Romaro’s ambivalence toward the death penalty influence his decision to offer a forensic diagnosis of intellectual disability? How might John’s “confession” or his comment about the “boy waiting for the bus” influence the decision? To what extent should these factors play a role in Dr. Romaro’s report?

3.     How are APA Ethical Standards 2.0f, 3.06, 4.04, 4.05, 5.01, 9.01a and 9.06 relevant to this case? Which other standards might apply?

http://www.apa.org/ethics/

4.     What steps should Dr. Romaro take to ethically implement his decision and monitor its effect?

http://www.apa.org/ethics/

 

Fisher, C. B. (2013). Decoding the ethics code: A practical guide for psychologists. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER!!! Assignment: Forensic Diagnosis of Intellectual Disability

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

• Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, including a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
• Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
• One or two-sentence responses, simple statements of agreement, or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
• I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

• Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
• In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
• Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
• Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

• Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
• Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
• I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

• I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’s level and deduct points accordingly.
• As Masters’s level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
• It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

 

LopesWrite Policy

• For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
• Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
• Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
• Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

• The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
• Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
• If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
• I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
• As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

• Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: 
  • Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
  • Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.