On Legal Abuses of Psychiatry

On Legal Abuses of Psychiatry

Dr. Thomas S. Szasz, in his latest essay into the abuses of psychiatry, considers what he calls the psychiatric denial of the right of trial: the procedure by which the accused is denied trial on the grounds of mental incompetence.

It is Szasi s contention that the relationship of psychiatry to authority is much too close, and that this results in a serious threat to individual liberty. When a man is labelled “crazy,” his denial is often taken to demonstrate the severity of...


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