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Insanity Defense: Pros And Cons

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Within America, four states have banned the use of the insanity defense. It is misused to escape prison and extends the trial due to how difficult it is to prove. The insanity defense states that the person who has committed the crime was or is unable to differentiate between right or wrong. It is believed that the mentally ill cannot be deterred by punishment and that it will protect society if they are treated rather than imprisoned. Many people are suspicious that the insanity defense is easily abused and manipulated by criminals and their lawyers. “In some studies, as many as 70 percent of NGRI defendants withdrew their plea when a state-appointed expert found them to be legally sane.” (Kenneth). For example, a jury had …show more content…

State psychiatrists must evaluate the person pleading not guilty by reason of insanity and clear them before anything can move forward. This always seems to fail as most of the pleas are withdrawn once it comes to light that they are in not at all mentally ill or unstable in any way. Prison is mostly filled with people who actually are in the caliber of mentally ill and never got the chance to plead insane, while mental institutions are mainly filled with successful insane defense pleas that were used just to escape time in jail. “One of the most devastating arguments against NGRI is that it may unfairly exclude many defendants. Studies suggest high rates of psychiatric illness in the general prison population.” …show more content…

But it is also the lawyers who play a role in trying to prove that their client is mentally ill that they themselves do anything and everything to prove just that. Defense lawyers had pinned their hopes on taking Mr. Goldstein off his antipsychotic medication and putting him on the stand, to better show jurors his mental state at the time of the attack. That strategy was thwarted when Mr. Goldstein struck a social worker, and the judge ordered that he be offered his medication each day.” (E. Barnes). This not only endangers everyone within the court, but also the defendant who is capable of doing a dangerous act and all of this just to prove they’re mentally ill and escape jail time that they deserve in the first place. More of a reason on why the insanity plea is not in the slightest way a good defense and should be

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