Q&A with Dr. Michael Welner, Forensic Psychiatrist
Updated October 16, 2026
Dr. Michael Welner is a forensic psychiatrist and founder of The Forensic Panel, a practice built on peer-reviewed forensic assessment. In this interview, he explains how that peer-review model works, describes the research initiative he calls the Depravity Standard, and shares advice for students entering forensic science. It’s presented as he gave it, from an earlier point in his career.
Dr. Michael Welner built his reputation on cases most people only read about, consulting and testifying in the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping case among others. In 1998 he founded The Forensic Panel, a forensic science practice built around peer review of its own casework, a model he says he borrowed from hospital medicine. He holds four board certifications: psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychopharmacology, and disaster medicine. Those are professional credentials on top of the state medical license every practicing psychiatrist needs, not a universal requirement for the field. At the time of this interview he was a Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at New York University School of Medicine. He’s since moved to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where his current title is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry. Below, he talks with CriminalJusticePrograms.com about how the Forensic Panel works and the research he calls the Depravity Standard.
A note on what follows: this interview was conducted some years ago, evident from several time-bound references inside it, the 2008 financial crisis, drug-enforcement priorities of that era, and the situation in Mexico at the time. The answers below are reproduced as Dr. Welner gave them, including his own account of case outcomes and claims about his own work. They reflect his perspective at that time, not independently verified fact or his current views.
Inside the Forensic Panel
What is The Forensic Panel?
The Forensic Panel is the first forensic science practice in the United States to operationalize peer-reviewed oversight as integral to the forensic assessment. I developed The Forensic Panel in reflection on how we forensic consultants operate. We are on an island, not learning from others’ experience, not challenged to refine our work by critical thinking, and not aware of potential blind spots. I had always enjoyed working with colleagues in hospital-based practice, and so I brought the hospital model to forensic assessment.
We began as a forensic psychiatry practice in 1998, growing from my own practice, and have added specialties based on needs that arose in different cases. For example, we recognized that in order to properly conduct death investigations, we needed pathology and toxicology. Now we conduct some death investigations in pathology completely independent of the behavioral sciences. The quality of our specialists has helped the practice grow in interesting directions that I never even envisioned.
How does the Forensic Panel’s approach differ from other practices?
Peer review promotes honesty and integrity in the forensic assessment. That is a key strength of the work that comes out of this practice. We use peer review to push examiners to ask, review, and search more. Forensic investigation is never the same from one case to the next, so those in forensic psychiatry and forensic science need to think openly and creatively about the right questions to ask. An ounce of evidence is worth a pound of expertise.
How does the work the Forensic Panel has done contribute to the forensic science field?
The case work attached to our practice has a signature of “The Last Word.” It creates an example of thoroughness, openness and transparency (our interviews are usually videotaped). Setting a good example is something each of us can do in our work. My mother was a nurse and she operated that way, she competed against herself to elevate the level of her work. We try to do better with each effort, as well.
Misconceptions About Forensic Evidence
What are some of the common misconceptions about forensics?
When you have an opportunity to integrate your findings into the bigger picture of an unsolved case and/or litigation, it is exciting. But, evidence doesn’t come to you. In fact, evidence is often not even there for the taking. You have to be proactive and detect evidence from human intelligence and witnesses. In that sense, you have to have an inquisitive temperament and keep asking questions even after everyone else has headed out for drinks. You have to get used to people thinking you are fanatical and pressuring you to quit, and stay the course.
There has been some criticism about the reliability of forensic science practices. What kind of practices will help change the field for the better?
I think courts have to hold expert testimony and practices accountable. Until that happens, we will continue to see expert witness chicanery even in cases of high scrutiny. In the criminal case of Elizabeth Smart’s kidnappers, for example, evidence from a key defense witness, which was withheld, slowed the case down by about five years and could have derailed it altogether. Unbelievable, but there was no accountability.
For a criminalist’s take on the same question of evidence reliability, see our Q&A with Criminalist Ronald L. Singer.
The Depravity Standard: Researching the Worst Crimes
Can you talk a little about the Depravity Scale? What is it and how might it affect the criminal justice system?
The Depravity Standard is a multi-tiered research initiative to standardize the distinction of the worst of crimes. Using evidence of intent, actions, victimology and attitudes derived from the range of forensic sciences, from anthropology to psychiatry, we can distinguish the worst of murders, assaults and violent crimes. Sentencing, in my opinion, should properly account for these distinctions between crimes. It does not. Judges and jurors only see a portion of what happened as they determine guilt. Part of the Depravity Scale, www.depravityscale.org, is a series of surveys that appraises the perspective of the general public about features of the worst of crimes. It is the first criminal justice research that actively incorporates the input of the general public.
The research aims to integrate public survey input with appellate case decisions and the study of large samples of actual cases to create a standard that informs juries about the evidence that makes some crimes worse than others.
Why is standardization so important in the criminal justice field today?
If we want justice that is blind, we need standards to be evidence-based whenever possible. Standardization promotes fairness and a quality of evidence that brings out best practices.
What can criminal justice professionals, whether in law, law enforcement, or forensics, take away from the Depravity Scale?
Right now we approach criminal responsibility as a matter of guilt or lack of evidence of guilt. Evidence gathering shoots for that threshold. A Depravity Standard goes beyond this, aiming to inform courts of evidence of intent, actions, attitude, and victimology. These measures assist the courts as they consider which crimes should be adjudicated with greater understanding and compassion and which crimes warrant greater accountability. The Depravity Scale was incorporated into this research in order to give the general public an avenue for directly impacting justice in the long term. In my opinion, a public that is more involved in shaping the justice system is more invested in it.
Advice for Future Criminal Justice Professionals
Do you have any recommendations for students entering the criminal justice field?
Learn your core requirements well because you must master the fundamentals. Then, find a frontier and develop it. The field, along with discoveries in science and technology, affords opportunities for new scientists and professionals to make a unique contribution to justice.
What do you see for the future of criminal justice?
I am not sure. I think digital data mining is the next frontier of evidence. But the future of criminal justice will be most immediately affected by cost containment. What justice priorities are set by the federal government? Where does it allocate? Terrorism has demonstrated that those priorities are sometimes set for us by forces we cannot control. One might see drug enforcement initiatives being de-emphasized, but the disintegration of justice in Mexico may become a key consideration in contemporary American justice. Our ongoing financial crisis will also affect justice priorities as much as political ideology does.
How can students become involved with the Depravity Scale and some of your other initiatives?
A number of schools have set up extra credit programs for students who participate in the Depravity Scale research. We welcome classes and teachers to make sure their voices are counted at www.depravityscale.org.
We very much appreciate student volunteers and have a well-developed internship program for even remote-located students. Visit www.forensicpanel.com for more details.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Dr. Michael Welner?
Dr. Michael Welner is a forensic psychiatrist and founder of The Forensic Panel. He holds board certifications in psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, psychopharmacology, and disaster medicine, in addition to the state medical license every practicing psychiatrist carries. He has consulted and testified on high-profile cases, including the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping, and developed the Depravity Standard research initiative. At the time of this interview he was on the NYU faculty. He’s since moved to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he’s now a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry.
What is The Forensic Panel?
The Forensic Panel is a forensic science practice Dr. Welner founded in 1998 that built peer review into every case. Dr. Welner describes it as the first U.S. practice built this way. That’s his and the Panel’s own characterization, not something independently verified here. It has since expanded from forensic psychiatry into pathology and toxicology for death investigations.
What is the Depravity Standard (also called the Depravity Scale)?
The Depravity Standard, which Dr. Welner also refers to as the Depravity Scale, is a research initiative that combines public survey input with case review. Its goal is to give courts a more standardized, evidence-based way to weigh how intent, actions, and victimology factor into a crime’s severity. It’s a research project working toward that goal, not an instrument courts are required to use in sentencing.
How can students get involved in the Depravity Standard research?
As of this update, the Forensic Panel’s internship program is active and accepts applications by email at [email protected], including from international students. The public survey Dr. Welner described is also still running, now hosted at depravitystandard.org. The school extra-credit arrangements he mentioned in the original interview aren’t something we can confirm are still in place.
Key Takeaways
- Peer review is the organizing principle – The Forensic Panel built hospital-style peer review into forensic casework instead of relying on a single examiner’s opinion.
- The Depravity Standard is research, not an adopted standard – It’s a research initiative combining public survey data with case review, aiming to give courts a more standardized way to weigh crime severity, not a tool courts currently use in sentencing.
- Fundamentals come before specialization – Dr. Welner’s advice to students is to master core requirements first, then find and develop a specific frontier.
- There’s a current way in – As of this update, the Depravity Standard’s public survey and The Forensic Panel’s internship program (apply at [email protected]) are both active, confirmed independently of the original interview.
Curious where forensic psychiatry fits into a criminal justice career? The forensic psychology career guide breaks down how practitioners actually enter the field and where the specialty overlaps with the courts and corrections.
Forensic Psychology Career Guide
Read more expert interviews with criminal justice professionals.