Examples Of Insanity Plea

Insanity Plea Ray Bradbury once said, “Insanity is relative. It depends on who has who locked in what cage.” In this case, we see a man who trapped himself in the cage of his own mind. In this case, the defendant, a troubled man, murdered his neighbor due to his disliking of the man’s “evil eye”. After committing the crime, he was confronted by the police, to whom he confessed because the defendant believed that he could still hear the beating of the man’s heart. The legal definition of insanity is, “mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior,” and this can be proved to be allowed to the defendant's case. For this, the defendant should receive the insanity plea to receive help for his crippling illness.

For example, near the end of the testimony, when the defendant is approached by the police he says, “ I talked more fluently, with a heightened voice, yet the sound increased” (Poe 630). The sound that the defendant is referring to is the heart of the old man he murdered. Somehow the defendant can still hear the heartbeat of the old man after he died, which proves the defendant is experiencing psychosis. In addition, when the defendant finally admits to the crime, he screams, “Villains!... I admit the deed!”(Poe 630). Not only does this further prove the fact that the defendant is experiencing psychosis, but it also shows that due to his psychosis, the defendant cannot conduct his daily affairs. Furthermore, after the defendant had killed the old man, he said: “I then smiled gaily to find the deed so done”(Poe 178). The deed to which he is referring to is, of course, the murder. This shows that the defendant suffers from another symptom of psychosis, which is lack of empathy for