The History of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity in Ohio

Presented by Jenny O'Donnell, PsyD and Travis Vieux, JD

2 Hours | 2 CEs

This program describes the historical background of the NGRI in Ohio. Participants learn how the role in determining Mental Condition at the Time of the Charged Offense (NGRI) came to be.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program you will be able to:

  • Describe the history of the NGRI statute (2945.371) in Ohio

  • Describe the role in determining Mental Condition at the Time of the Charged Offense (NGRI) came to be

Presented By

CEO of the Forensic Evaluation Service Center (FESC) Jenny O'Donnell, Psy.D.

Dr. Jennifer O'Donnell is the CEO of the Forensic Evaluation Service Center (FESC), one of ten accredited forensic centers in Ohio. She also has a private forensic practice and consults with other forensic centers around the state. As an Ohio forensic psychologist, she is qualified as an expert in most Ohio counties and some federal criminal courts for criminal and probate work. Jenny graduated with her doctorate from Xavier University's Psy.D. program with her training emphasis on individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) and in Geropsychology (older adults). That said, she has spent her entire career in the forensic assessment arena at the intersection of criminal justice and mental health, working in jails, prisons, state hospitals, and community mental health agencies, where she has always been fascinated with process improvement, and specifically ways to improve the life course of individuals who often get trapped in these systems. She was awarded the 2015 NAMI of Butler County “Trailblazer" award for her work on re-entry with individuals with severe mental illness, and she now serves on Ohio’s Governor’s Competency Restoration Task Force. She is very proud of her mentees who have gone on to serve Ohio’s population with severe mental illness in several different arenas and travels around Ohio working as a Sequential Intercept Mapping (SIM) Instructor, building better collaboration between mental health and addiction services and criminal justice involved organizations. These efforts are targeted at helping communities, individuals, and families in the criminal justice and mental health space. Jenny also has served on many community boards in Hamilton County, namely the HC Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and the Tax Levy Review Committee, and in leadership and fundraising for Girls on the Run, Cincinnati, and Team Red, White and Blue, Cincinnati, a veteran outreach organization. She is the co-founder of the Queen City Pollinator Project. She is also a 2018 graduate of the FBI-Cincinnati Citizens Academy Alumni Association and a beekeeper. Those who know her well know that her real passions are trail running, pollinators, and community activism.

Assistant Prosecutor for the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office Travis Vieux, J.D

Travis J. Vieux is a 1999 graduate of Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Vieux is an Assistant Prosecutor for the Warren County Prosecutor’s Office, where he has been a felony criminal prosecutor since 2008. Mr. Vieux specializes in major felony prosecutions, child physical and sexual abuse cases and Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and Competency issues. Mr. Vieux previously served on the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Domestic Violence Advisory Committee and currently serves on the Warren County Bar Association Certified Grievance Committee.

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. PaloAlto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies(CONCEPT) is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies(CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Boardfor Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers#SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental HealthPractitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental healthcounselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT)has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT ProfessionalTraining, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.