Mental illness and capital punishment
We were very pleased to read the September Monitor article "Limiting the Reach of the Death Penalty," which mentioned Indiana's efforts to exempt individuals with severe mental illness from capital punishment. This excellent piece ended with the hope that "Indiana's forward-thinking initiative" will inspire other states to pursue similar legislation.
We thought your readers would be interested to know that Indiana is not alone in tackling this issue. Indeed, there has been a growing public interest that has sparked state lawmakers in eight states to introduce bills establishing a severe mental illness exemption last year. These states are Arkansas, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. In addition, advocates in at least five other states are planning similar efforts. That reflects almost 40 percent of death-penalty states considering this narrow, but scientifically and legally supported, reform. For more information, visit ambar.org/smiexemption, where we have dedicated resources on this area of law and policy.
Aurélie Tabuteau Mangels and Misty Thomas
American Bar Association, Death Penalty Due Process Review Project, Washington, D.C.
Honoring the needs of later-career psychologists
As a long-standing member of APA, I had the pleasure of attending APA conventions when starting my career in the early 1980s, and I continued attending until 2004. I made a last-minute decision to return to the APA convention this year and am delighted to have done so—what an exciting and collegial forum! I was also impressed with the wide range of programs, hospitality suites and receptions addressing the needs of graduate students and early career psychologists—a vitally needed process virtually nonexistent in my earlier days at APA conventions.
I would like to challenge APA and the convention organizers to complement these important initiatives by offering a parallel set of programs addressing the needs of later-career and "seasoned" psychologists. For example, although some APA divisions, such as Div. 42 (Independent Practice), offer mentoring for psychologists across their careers, this is not always the case, and I believe that there is an unmet need for programs that honor the needs of more senior attendees and that are welcoming, valuing and inclusive of this important demographic of both APA membership and convention attendees.
Danielle Nahon, PhD
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Please send letters to APA Monitor on Psychology Editor Sara Martin at smartin@apa.org. Letters should be limited to 175 words and may be edited for space and clarity.