ipl-logo

The Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Defense

1096 Words5 Pages

Those who are insane can be declared innocent if proven “not aware” of what they were doing when they were committing a crime and breaking the law. The mentally insane are able to be given smaller punishment, no jail time, or no punishment. These people are also given treatment for their mental illness but, it is not much better than imprisonment. These defendants may have committed a horrible crime, but will not be punished for it, because they are insane. Some defendants may use the insanity plea to escape imprisonment, but they are not truly insane. If you wouldn’t want a murderer to go free of punishment, then you don’t want a criminal to be innocent, because of their “mental illness”. The Insanity Defense should not exempt the mentally ill from prosecution for their crimes, reminding us that insanity is not an excuse for criminal actions.
The Insanity Defense is used in a criminal case and argues that a defendant is not guilty because they were not responsible for their actions while committing a criminal act. Some defendants under the defense may be declared NGRI; not guilty by …show more content…

No one exceeds the law so much that they are exempt from punishment for committing a crime. The law and justice systems are here to keep us safe and someone could use their “mental illness” to escape incarceration and put others in danger. It would be unwise to let a gang leader go free from a life sentence in prison, because he was ruled insane, and he could still endanger someone. The Insanity Defense is rarely used in the United States and it would be wise to get rid of it altogether so, it can’t be misused by criminals looking for a way to escape imprisonment. The Insanity Defense should not be able to excuse someone for fair punishment for their

Show More
Related

Andrea Yates Case

950 Words | 4 Pages

At the 2002 trial, Yates pleaded not guilty, by using the insanity defense. The insanity defense argues that an individual should not be found guilty of a crime if they have a persistent psychiatric disease at the time the crime was committed. It was proved that Yates could tell right from wrong, so she did not meet the definition of the insanity in Texas (Walsh). The jury deliberated for almost four hours, and finally found Yates guilty. The jury rejected her insanity defense, and Yates was sentenced to life in prison.

Read More

Perry's Insanity In Dr. Truman Capote

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

Insanity Defense Of Andrea Yates

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

What Is Myers III V. State Of Indiana An Example Of Mental Competency?

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

The Insanity Verdict On Trial By Scott O. Lilienfeld

1669 Words | 7 Pages

Unlike serial killers with psychopathy they manipulate the system to benefit their own means to an end. Allowing this disorder to fall into the insanity defense would feed into their disorder in that it would allow for the manipulation of the system to

Read More

Use Of The Insanity Plea By Andrea Yates

2597 Words | 11 Pages

During my true crime podcast era, I came across Andrea Yates. Yates was a mother who killed her five young children by drowning them in a bathtub. While listening to this case, it was revealed that the insanity plea, or also known as the insanity defense, was used. It got me thinking about how the plea works and how people would allow this outcome over a jail sentence. The insanity plea is a tough topic to tackle in the world of criminal law.

Read More

Death Penalty In Hitchcock's In Cold Blood

544 Words | 3 Pages

Insanity can happen by brain deficiencies or the environment you grew up in and also how you were raised. At the moment of the crimes that people make they don’t know right from wrong when they have a psychotic episode. The real question is should people with insanity be punished for what they have done and could they control what they were doing at the time.

Read More

The Pros And Cons Of Supermax Prison

2026 Words | 9 Pages

Nevertheless, there are no studies that support the claim of confinement causing mental illness. If a person causes harm to any innocent victim for any reason and is convicted of the heinous crime(s) he or she should be sentenced

Read More

John Hinckley's Insanity Defense

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

8th Amendment Capital Punishment

1708 Words | 7 Pages

Most mentally ill people who are convicted on capital charges should not be executed, for three such reasons. Firstly, the executions would violate equal protection of the laws in any jurisdiction in which execution of children and people with mental illness of any kind that psychologically cannot fully comprehend what they are committing is barred. Secondly, many death sentences imposed on people with mental illness violate due process more so because their mental illness is treated by the aggravating factor, either directly or to create a separate aggravating circumstance. Thirdly, many mentally ill offenders, who are sentenced to death, will be so impaired to what is fully going on at the time of execution that they can not emotionally understand the significance of their punishment. Thus, they cannot be executed under the eighth amendment; Regarding this, the latter conclusion is required even if they are cured through some sort of treatment.

Read More

Insanity Plea Pros And Cons

543 Words | 3 Pages

Penal institutions in America are already over packed making it harder for the prison guards to look out for everyone. Mental diseases such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can make it hard to control for their thoughts and actions, which results in them committing malicious crimes, such as murder. But, these personas do not know that they are doing something terribly wrong. Because of this, they sometimes end up in prison. But with the insanity plea, the accused have a chance in defending themselves.

Read More

Madness In Medea By Euripide

1250 Words | 5 Pages

Intro: “It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane” (PHILIP K. DICK, Valis). In present day America laws have been placed that prevent people who are “insane” to be guilty of the crimes they commit. In short, insanity is the state of being seriously mentally ill relating to madness. This is presented in the book Medea written by Euripides through her point of view. In Medea, a surge of insanity purges her after she is betrayed by her husband Jason causing many cruel and harsh actions to follow from her.

Read More

Insanity Plea Persuasive Essay

733 Words | 3 Pages

There is a difference between being legally insane and having diminished capacity. This meaning that not all cases would be so black and white. The insanity plea would not cover somebody who at the time of the crime may not have been in complete control of his or her actions, but their intent was clear. This is where many become confused. They believe that anybody can claim that they are insane and get away with the crime.

Read More

Arguments Against Insanity Defense

1042 Words | 5 Pages

Some say an insanity defense is a legal concept, not a clinical one. In some cases, the prosecution has had a hard time distinguishing between people pretending to be insane and the people who actually suffer from insanity. (Math, Kumar, and Moirangthem) Even though it is legal to be insane, do not take advantage of it and go do something you will regret later in life. There is a time and place and there is also a way to act in a public place.

Read More

Insanity Defense

1529 Words | 7 Pages

People use this as an excuse to criminal liability because mental illness is covered under section 16 of the Criminal Code. The insanity defense prevents a mentally-incapacitated person from

Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Defense

Related Topics

Open Document