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Insanity Defense Essay

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Recommended: Abuse of the insanity defense

The insanity defence is a defence that can be used in trial by a defendant to argue that they are not guilty by reason of insanity. It is based on whether they were of sound mind at the time of the crime and whether they could differentiate between the right and wrongs of their actions. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the laws, legislation, and tests regarding the insanity defence have evolved drastically as subsequent ways of determining insanity and who receives the defence have been deemed insufficient. Throughout the years, the defence has become less and less of a loophole for defendants trying to use it as a ‘get out of jail free card’ where they can avoid a just punishment, as now, clear, and convincing evidence to prove they …show more content…

In his journal article, The Insanity Defense: The New Loophole he said, “in Pennsylvania and most other states, defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity are diverted to the mental health system, from which they are usually released within a relatively brief time, often unsupervised and on heavy doses of psychotropic medication”. Their treatment doesn’t “reduce the probability of a repetition of criminal conduct” (Caesar, 1979) . He and many other people believe the accused try and use the defence so they can avoid having a long prison sentence or in extreme cases, the death penalty as the insanity defence doesn’t allow capital punishment. Even in the case of homicide, the defendants can get out in a relatively short period of time. For example, Jeffrey Arenburg shot and killed sportscaster Brian Smith in 1995. He was found ‘not criminally responsible’ (NCR) on the account of a mental disorder, also known as not guilty by reason of insanity; he was discharged from a mental health facility in 2006 (Sisler, 2014) . If he wasn’t found not guilty due to a mental illness, then he would have got a longer sentence in prison as murder usually finds someone 15-30 years in prison or a life sentence depending on the …show more content…

Because of the lengthy process of determining if someone was insane at the time of the crime, this delays what sentence the accused will receive at the end of the proceeding. Even if they know there’s a chance, they won’t be found not guilty by reason of insanity, their sentence will be delayed while they determine whether they were of sound mind at the time so they can avoid, for example, going to prison for months or even years. So even though it is not a direct loophole, it can still be used to a defendant's advantage if they try and plead this defence as they must supply evidence whether they were of sound mind at the time or not (DJN Blogs, 2021). However, the very fact that it is such a lengthy process means it is rigorous, thorough and therefore the professionals involved go to extreme lengths to ensure the diagnostic is correct which means the defence is not a

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It lists that in order to declare a defendant not guilty by insanity, it must be proven that the person is significantly mentally ill and was not able to differentiate right from wrong in the instance of their crime (Levin). There was no dispute between prosecution or defense that Andrea was mentally ill, it was simply if her illness inhibited her judgement enough to meet the legal standards. Her family and defense attorney all believed that there was no questioning the severity of her condition, she simply could not function as a regular human being, and her judgement was clouded. Andrea’s mother-in-law, Dora Yates, who frequently watched over Andrea and witnessed her daily condition, stated, “I don't think she knew how to cope . . . how to function.

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In the field of criminal law there is a certain type of criminal defense that comes to the court and has a low success rate. These cases concern the mental capacity of the defendant and if they have enough mental capacity, or are sane enough, to be aware of their crime and consequences of crime. The insanity defense is extremely rare because of how difficult it is for the defense to prove to the court and jury that the defendant did not have the mental capacity to understand what they did wrong and the consequences from it. The case of Myers III v. State of Indiana is one example of criminal responsibility and mental capacity. This case has information that can be connected to the textbook with the insanity defense tests, mental competence

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Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) is a form of insanity defense that allows for an individual to not be found guilty of a crime due to a mental defect or disease that results in a lack of mens rea, or the capability to intentionally commit a crime. However, simply having a mental illness or defect does not guarantee that an offender will be found NGRI. Not only would a defendant have to have a major or severe mental illness or disease, but the defendant would have to prove that their condition impaired them so greatly as to not have any control over their behavior or any concept that they had done anything wrong at the time of the offense. Although Bob undoubtedly had a diminished capacity for logic and reason in this case, the example as given does not provide enough detail to determine the nature of Bob’s personality or his potential motives in committing this crime. Nevertheless, there is one major flaw to Bob’s insanity defense: he tried to hide the crime.

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Texas revised its insanity defense statute after John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the 1981 attempted assassination of then-President Ronald Reagan. The Hinckley verdict enraged many and fed the common misconception that those defendants “got away with murder.” A key requirement in criminal law is mens rea: a “guilty mind.” The reaction and statute change defined mens rea as simply knowing the act was wrong (Princeton.edu, 2005).

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“It was discovered that one psychiatrist, Park Dietz, had given testimony that turned out to be untrue. He had claimed that Yates got her idea to drown the children from an episode of Law and Order. It turned out that he had confused the plots of multiple episodes” (Andrea Yates, 2021). It was during this trial that Andrea Yates was found not guilty by the reason of insanity and was sent to a maximum-security state mental facility. The M'Naghten Rule, which states “all defendants are presumed to be sane unless they can prove that–at the time of committing the criminal act–the defendant’s state of mind caused them to (1) not know what they were doing when they committed said act, or (2) that they knew what they were doing, but did not know that it was wrong”

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This was later carried out through twenty-six other states, including the U.S., which created a precedent against the execution of the mentally ill in 1986. Even though the mentally ill cannot be executed, if the person who claimed mental illness is no longer mentally ill he or she can be executed. While the insanity plea proves that some criminals are mentally unstable, it should be used with caution because many convicted criminals abuse it during court cases, imitate being mentally ill during an examination, and are able to avoid the death penalty. Despite that the insanity plea can potentially help someone in defense for a mental illness case, many people can also take advantage of these precedents to alleviate their trials. The public in most insanity plea cases, do not typically agree with the rulings because most criminals use the

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For the insanity defense to work, the defense must admit that the crime did infect happen, but the defendant did not actually commit the crime. The goal rather than trying to dispute facts is to find the defendant as being innocent because of their mental state. Another pro for the insanity defense is that it does not allow the death penalty to be used. This is one huge advantage for the insanity defense because one that is accused could avoid the death penalty even if they were proven to be guilty. Lastly, it can save a life, if an individual really does have a mental incapacity and its considered that their condition has caused them to commit a capital crime which means the defendant could save their life.

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This case, while Monte Durham wasn’t able to be proven insane, lead to reformations of the M’naghten Rule that would eventually be called the Durham Rule. Going back to Fersch’ book, this would implement more scientific approaches to determine if somebody was legally insane (3). Later in 1984, President Reagan would implement the Comprehensive Crime Control Act that required criminals to prove that they are mentally insane. With the history of the insanity defense concluded, let us take a look at some cases where the insanity defense is involved as the criminal’s reason for their

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