Worth of Psychology

For Criminals Queried

By Jim Mann
Washington Post Staff Writer

Chief Judge David L. Baze-

lon of the U.S. Court of Ap- .

peals, the judge who pi-
oneered in bringing psycholo-
gists and their concepts into
the criminal justice field, told
a group of psychologists this
week that he questions their
value in dealing with violent
criminals,

In a speech entitled, “Psy-
chologists in Corrections —
Are They Doing Good for the
Offenders or Well = for
Themselves?”, the judge told a
meeting Thursday -of about 40
correctional psychologists in
Florida:

® He believes violent crime
‘¥s an inevitable by-product of
our society’s social and eco-
nomic structure,” and is not
the result of sick persons who-+
must be treated by doctors.

@ He does not believe more
money is necessary for psy-
chological research. When he
judged research proposals on
the Advisory Council of the
National Institute of Mental
Health, Bazelon said, he
“could count on one hand” the
number of research projects
promising or useful for those
working in criminal justice.

© He questions whether too
much money is being spent for
psychologists in “action pro-
grams” such as rehabilitation.

“We now have a federal
penal institution in West Vir-

 

—"

  

JUDGE DAVID BAZELON
... unusual stance

ginia that spends, and this wa :

the figure several years ago

about $13,000 per year on eacl °

inmate”, the judge said

“Don’t we have to ask whethe. ©
the problem could be bette -

handled by letting the inmate,
out of the institution and jus
giving each one of then
$13,000 per year?”

By all accounts, Bazelon’s
speech provoked a strong reac
tion and numerous question:
from the psychologists at the
convention. Several psycholo
gists interviewed yesterday
were reluctant to discuss theis

See BAZELON, C5, Col. 1

 

- nar here,

BAZELON, From C1

feelings. They generally said
that Bazelon had “oversimpli-

fied” the problems and that)

they disagreed with his re-
marks about money for re-
search.

It was an unusual stance for
Bazelon, known throughout
the country as an authority on
the relationship between psy-
chology and the law. The
judge is the author of the
“Durham Rule,” which liberal-
izéd the standards under
which a defendant could be
found not guilty by reason of
insanity. He is also a clinical
professor on the legal aspects
of ‘psychiatry at George Wash-
ingtom University Medical
School.

In 1968, in a speech before
the Adolescent Medicine Semi-
Bazelon noted,
“There are still many people
—judges and  others—who
seém to believe that criminal

_. behavior by white, middle-

class people. may well be a re-
sult of mental disorder, but
that eriminal behavior by
ghetto residents is somehow
untonnected with mental ill-
negs.” Ghetto youngsters, he
said the, “have the highest
claim to our scarce psychiatric
resources,”

Over the years, in his Court
of .Appeals decisions, he has
vigorously fought to ensure
that criminal defendants have
a full and proper psychologi-
eal; examination before trial
ang. adequate rehabilitation
onte' they are convicted or
fognd not guilty by reason of
inggnity. .-

.__ Interviewed by telephone in
‘Florida yesterday, Bazelon
said his speech really was not
‘a -new position for him. He
said he had questioned the
role of psychologists and so-
cial workers in a speech at

 

oe a

Harvard University two or
three years ago.

“Everybody thinks I’m an
apologist for the behavioral-
ists,” Bazelon said. “They
don’t need me to help them.
They have a valuable service
to perform. But they are not
wizards, and we must not for-
get it.”

In his Florida speech, Baze-
lon told the psychologists,
“Your discipline inevitably as-
sumes, I think, that aberrant
behavior is the product of
sickness, and it brings to bear
on the problem a medical or
therapeutic model. That model
assumes a white, middle-class,
nonconforming subject whose
antisocial conduct is attributa-
ble to mental disturbance.”

Bazelon argued that the
model does not fit for wolent
crime, much of which, he said,
“is committed by persons who

ciety’s barrel...”

“Poor, black offenders are
not necessarily sick. They may
simply be responding to‘an en-
vironment that has impover-
ished them, humiliated them
and embittered them.

“Will group therapy help a
black teen-ager who steals
cars and peddles drugs, and
who will be tossed at the end

back into. the environment
that nurtured him?”

about $20,000 in federal funds,
said they respected Bazelon’s
judgement but did not neces-
sarily agree with him.

“He’s' a delightful person,”
said Dr. Stanley Brodsky, a
psychologist at Southern Ji-
nois University and the chair-
man of the conference “I‘m
very pleased he came and got
us stimulated to examine who
we are and what we're doing.”
Brodsky said he disagreed
with Bazelon’s views about the
need for more research.

 

are clearly at the bottom of so-

of his ‘rehabilitation’ right |:

Psychologists at the confer- |:
ence, which was financed by |:

 

-_ om a oe

Ret et et -~

~~ to oh

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