SALEM, Mass. - Jack Levin, author of "Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed" and a professor of criminology at Northeastern University, will deliver the keynote address when Salem State College hosts the public forum "Criminal Responsibility and the Insanity Defense Plea: An Interdisciplinary Approach" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 in Forten Hall of the college's library.

Levin is the Director of the Brudnick Center on Violence and Conflict at Northeastern University. In addition to "Hate Crimes" he has authored 23 books, including "The Will to Kill: Making Sense of Senseless Murder."

Panelists will include Salem State College professors Pat Markunas and Kristen Kuehnle and University of New Hampshire research associate Charles Putnam.

Markunas, a professor in the criminal justice department, teaches a popular course "Psychology and Law." She will give a history of the defense as rooted in the McNaughten case and discuss the John Hinckley and Dan White cases of "diminished capacity."

Kuehnle, a professor in the criminal justice department, has worked extensively with mentally disordered offenders in inpatient and outpatient settings and has conducted forensic evaluations for the states of Massachusetts and Maine. She will address the issues of sentencing and outcome for those offenders with a mental illness.

Putnam has a law degree from the University of Connecticutt and has served in the state prosecutor's office for 15 years. He is a former New Hampshire Assistant Attorney General. He will speak about criminal litigation when there is an "imperfect" insanity claim and the ethical implications of insanity and diminished capacity defenses.

There will be a reception at 6:30 p.m. The forum is free and open to the public. For more information, contact philosophy professor Krishna Mallick at (978) 542-6298.