Ethical issues in the evaluation and treatment of death row inmates.

Purpose of Review: To summarize recent ethical analyses of psychiatrists' participation in the evaluation and treatment of death row inmates.
Recent Findings: Psychiatric participation in death penalty cases remains highly controversial in the United States, whereas there appears to be a more worldwide consensus that it is ethically inappropriate.
Summary: Psychiatrists working in death penalty settings are functioning in a complex ethical arena, and must consider the implications of their decisions to participate and/or abstain from various activities with great care and attention to the circumstances of the individual cases at hand.