The Ohio Forensic Directors’ Association is offering our annual training virtually. This 3.0-hour training is part of the ongoing series of training events for forensic evaluators at our centers and for our professional partners in the community.
9-29-2022 from 9:30 to 12:45 Dr. Ben Silber will be discussing:
- To familiarize and educate legal examiners about the language of the court in ORC 2929.025, concerning defendants with severe mental illness regarding the death penalty.
- To familiarize legal examiners with the process of evaluating response to the court’s order for a 2929.025 evaluation.
- To provide legal examiners with a protocol they can use to thoroughly address all the key elements of a 2929.025 evaluation.
This topic arose out of the recent changes in Ohio law regarding individuals diagnosed with severe mental illness at the time of the offense, or afterward who are involved in a death-penalty eligible offense.
Benjamin Silber is a licensed clinical psychologist based out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Following specialized training in psychological assessment and forensic evaluation at Patton State Hospital (California), he completed a predoctoral internship at the federal correctional complex in Butner, NC where he received further training in forensic psychology and the treatment of serious mental illness. He completed a formal postdoctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the Arkansas State Hospital and obtained a position as a forensic psychologist there the following year. That same year, he also started Expert Psychological Evaluations, his forensic psychology private practice. Dr. Silber has a tireless and dedicated passion for forensic psychology and continues to pursue advanced training and new opportunities whenever and wherever available. He brings his enthusiasm, energy, and conscientiousness to every evaluation and referral. Dr. Silber is certified as a Specialist on the American Board of Professional Psychology in Forensic Psychology and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology.
RESOURCES for this training session:
- Sentencing for aggravated murder when the offender had a serious mental illness at the time of the offense. Ohio Revised Code: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2929.025
- American Bar Association article: https://www.americanbar.org/groups/committees/death_penalty_representation/publications/project_blog/ohio-bars-death-penalty-for-mental-illness/
- Guilty but Mentally Ill, NPR story: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/02/486632201/guilty-but-mentally-ill-doesnt-protect-against-harsh-sentences
- Reversing Guilty by Mentally Ill in Favor of NGRI (2021, Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law): http://jaapl.org/content/49/1/127
This training is free for affiliates of our certified centers and is available for a registration fee for those who are not sponsored by a center.
To register for the conference, click here: https://forensicevaluationservicecenter.org/2022ceform/
The registration fee for those who are not Legal Examiners at a forensic center is $135. Students are free of charge.
After you have registered, you can pay $135 via PAY PAL: AOFECD or you can pay via the invoice we will send you once we have received your registration.
We have been approved for OPA-MCE credits for psychologists, CEs for social workers, and counselors. We have pending applications for CMEs for physicians and CLEs for attorneys.
Thank you to our partners at Ohio MHAS for helping out with the CEs.