ipl-logo

Insanity Plea Essay Topics

1814 Words8 Pages

A greek philosopher named Aristotle once said “If a madman or a natural fool, or a lunatic in the time of his lunacy do [kill a man], this is no felonious act, for they cannot be said to have any understanding or will.” The insanity plea is an immensely controversial topic. Some of history’s most heinous criminals have exploited it. Its controversy stems from the notion that those who claim insanity are absolved of responsibility for their crimes. The insanity plea also commonly called the insanity defense is shockingly hardly used and has an exceedingly even lower success rate. It is difficult to prove an individual is insane when they commit a wrongful act. The idea of the insanity defense can be traced back as far as 500 BC. The ideology …show more content…

Many individuals lack the understanding and awareness of mental illness and this can be very dangerous, especially when making decisions in regard to criminal behaviour. In some instances, the judicial system's failure to recognise the causal link between psychopathy and criminal behaviour can result in systemic failures. People who understand the struggle, difficulties, and functions linked with mental illness can better understand how it can affect one’s actions. People who have a better knowledge of the topic of mental illness will also be more understanding of the Insanity plea. Some people will be able to understand that the insanity plea does not necessarily let the criminal off with no punishment. The defendant will not be released from custody and put right back in society but rather be held at a mental hospital or mental institution which would be more beneficial for the defendant. Mental hospitals and institutions have the necessary treatment, and operations to properly deal with a mental patient. This can be more beneficial to situate the defendant in a place where not only are they being held in custody but are also having the appropriate and required care. When looking at the other side many individuals will feel as if it may defeat the purpose of the rule of precedent. It is important to provide equality within cases and a lot of people will perceive this as disregarding the regular procedures of treating similar cases alike. Other criminals who have undergone similar cases will feel like the choice was arbitrary rather than fair. Ted Bundy was a serial killer in the 1970s who horrifically murdered over 30 women. He plead insane although it was not a success as he was able to carry on and even thrive in both his professional and personal life. His case can correlate with the matters being discussed. If the insanity plea was a success the families of those 30 women would not only be devastated

Show More
Related
464 Words | 2 Pages

Insanity is an illness an individual cannot overcome and will make decisions without thinking. Lacking the further knowledge of a criminal's mental state does not endorse the fate of acquiring the death

Read More
935 Words | 4 Pages

Dr. Mark Nolan, Senior Lecturer at ANU College of Law, says that the NGRI plea “enables defendants to avoid criminal liability and standard criminal punishment” (Nolan 8). The main disagreement with America is the focus whether if the “guilty defendant” pursues to misuse the “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” as an alternative to imprisonment or if the criminally accused was at the time of committing the crime “clinically insane” and in need psychotherapy. Therefore, during this discussion of opposing viewpoints concerning the insanity defense being misused or ethical are going to be

Read More
1528 Words | 7 Pages

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

Read More
242 Words | 1 Pages

So what can be done? A few numbers of American writers have argued that the insanity defence should be abolished. Two arguments have been relied upon. The first is that the insane defendant should be able to rely upon the same defenses as a sane defendant. For an instance, if an insane person lacks mens rea for an offence he deserves to be acquitted.

Read More
271 Words | 2 Pages

Since the use of insanity defense typically has to do with knowing right from wrong he could not use this defense because he did in fact know what he was doing was wrong. Despite individuals knowing the wrongfulness of their act some may not be able to control their impulse to commit such act. We are captivated by the acts of some of these individuals

Read More
768 Words | 4 Pages

People have their own opinions when it comes to issuing court trials, especially when it comes down to a person being found guilty, or a person being found not guilty by reason of insanity. Did this person know what they were doing when they committed a crime? Did they know it was morally wrong? Do they have any remorse for what they have done? These are all questions courts look at when someone has committed a brutal crime, but is it fair to claim someone as “insane” or “mentally ill”, rather than putting them behind bars and calling them a criminal like the rest of them?

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

What is the definition of criminal insanity and is it good enough to prevent real criminals to being sentenced to a comfy mental asylum? Traditionally, the test of insanity

Read More
1669 Words | 7 Pages

What exactly is the insanity defense? In a criminal trial situation the insanity defense is used to explain that the defendant was not responsible for his or her actions at the time the crime was committed due to a mental health illness or a mental handicap. Now you have to think of the reasoning, is this form of defense used as an actual defense for one who irresponsibly committed a crime or as a last resort hoping for an acquittal before a defendant is about to be handed a guilty verdict? Most people being asked would say it is being used for sane people trying to get out of a crime they committed, but I believe the insanity defense is misunderstood by society and should strictly be used for its creation of mentally ill individuals.

Read More
2597 Words | 11 Pages

If there is a physical way to show that someone is insane, then it could change the outcome of those who use the insanity plea. Debates between philosophers, psychologists, and the general public have yet to agree on a definitive cause. Jin S. Lee (2021) is one of the many contributing authors in the Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law Volume 28 Issue 2 book. The specific chapter that he wrote is called “Borderline Personality Disorder in the Courtroom” which talks specifically about borderline personality disorder and its diagnostic criteria. He says, “The characteristic pattern of behaviors, cognition, and emotions may be influenced by factors often categorized into nature…and nurture” (Lee, 2021, pp. 206-217).

Read More
1895 Words | 8 Pages

There is no true way to measure insanity; over the years, these tests that have been developed to measure illness have failed over and over again. Today, the insanity defense is not consistent from one defendant to another. The states of Idaho, Kansas, Montana, and Utah do not permit the use of the insanity plea. The legal standard varies across other states, so a ruling of “not guilty by reason of insanity” may apply in one state but not in another for a specific case. Results of a case is based solely on the defendant’s impression on the jury and what expert testimony is given which allows for an unfair legal system.

Read More
92 Words | 1 Pages

In refers to class discussion, as a result of the M’Nagthen case, the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 (IDRA) is only use when the defendant does not understand the nature of the crime committed. Therefore, although neurosis or personality disorders qualify as a mental disease according to the DSM-5; the law has eliminated these types of disorders from being utilized in courts as a form of defense. The law has also excluded the irresistible impulse or inabilities to comply with the rules as a means of defense in the federal

Read More
1047 Words | 5 Pages

Without the insanity plea, those who are not in equal in mental stability are disproportionately punished by being convicted as any other criminal. The insanity defense is not an attempt to justify the person’s actions by any means. The plea deal is simply a way of ensuring a punishment commensurate to that of their mental boundary. If a defendant has no possible method of controlling his or her thoughts, then his or her punishment should not be equal to that of someone who is fully capable of forming a mens rea. Moreover, despite the prevalence of the insanity plea in our popular culture, it is not that prevalent in actual court cases.

Read More
1104 Words | 5 Pages

Plea of Insanity The plea of insanity is a defense in which the defendant cannot be held criminally responsible for a crime due to them not being in a stable mindset. In the ongoing trial of Alex Murdaugh, the question of whether or not he should claim insanity is still up for debate. But many things must still be considered before saying that he should not. Before the murder trial most people knew Alex Murdaugh as a thief and drug addict, but that is only half of the story.

Read More
1086 Words | 5 Pages

This causes many issues within the system due to the lack of evaluation during cases’, and hardly any representations of illnesses. These cases can be altered due to the public opinions during publicized cases which can pursue the judges and create a new outcome of a case. 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

Read More
634 Words | 3 Pages

“A man must be presumed sane and a sufficient degree of reason to be responsible for his crimes until the contrary is proved… to establish a defence of insanity it must be clearly proved that at the time of committing the act, the accused was labouring under a defect of reason from a disease of the mind as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, and if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong” A set of rules arose from the judgement of this case, and they are still relevant today. They are as follows. “(1) A partial delusion will be no defence if the defendant still knew that his actions were against the law. (2) Every person is presumed to be sane and therefore accountable for his actions, until the contrary is

Read More

More about Insanity Plea Essay Topics

Related Topics

Open Document