...The “Insanity” Plea The “Insanity” Plea A criminal defendant who is found to have been legally insane in the course of committing a crime is relieved the criminal responsibility by the virtue of suffering from a mental disease (Findlaw, 2015). In some cases, the accused may be sentenced to a less severe sentence or punishment after being found on the wrong side of the law because of the mental impairment. Many nations allow the insanity defense in their legal systems. However, the accused must prove to the court that they were not on their senses or acted upon uncontrolled impulse or some variety of these factors when doing the wrongful doings. The general sense of insanity plea is to provide the alleged perpetrator of the criminal offense a fair trial. The society is even in agreement with this principle in extreme cases. Nonetheless, the major challenge falls on where to draw the line. That is, the circumstances where one can be considered insane and instances when he or she is not. It is worth noting that, no matter how appealing the crime itself is, it doesn’t demonstrate the level of insanity. Today, the legal systems use way too much of the insanity defenses. While there are many questionable defense tactics, insanity plea targets to protect the rights of the accused and further the course of justice. This paper discusses the insanity plea as used in the legal systems in the present times. What is the main purpose of insanity plea? How did it find...
Words: 1941 - Pages: 8
...The Insanity Defense is one of many defenses to criminal liability that falls under the Excuse defense. When a person pleads excuse they admit that what they did was wrong, but under the circumstances they were put in, they aren’t responsible and shouldn’t be held responsible. Excuse defenses are presented after the prosecution has proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt, and when the defendant has yet to prove that their conduct was justified. When using the insanity defense, the defendant has to carry some of the burden of proof, proving that they have an excuse in order to avoid criminal responsibility. Insanity is a legal term used that refers to a mental disease or defect which would impair a person’s reason or will to control their actions. Much of the public...
Words: 593 - Pages: 3
...The Insanity Defense The insanity defense refers to that branch of the concept of insanity which defines the extent to which men accused of crimes may be relieved of criminal responsibility by virtue of mental disease. The terms of such a defense are to be found in the instructions presented by the trial judge to the jury at the close of a case. These instructions can be drawn from any of several rules used in the determination of mental illness. The final determination of mental illness rests solely on the jury who uses information drawn from the testimony of "expert" witnesses, usually professionals in the field of psychology. The net result of such a determination places an individual accordingly, be it placement in a mental facility, incarceration, or outright release. Due to these aforementioned factors, there are several problems raised by the existence of the insanity defense. Problems such as the actual possibility of determining mental illness, justifiable placement of judged "mentally ill" offenders, and the overall usefulness of such a defense. In all, I believe that these problems, as well as others which will be mentioned later, lead us to the conclusion that the insanity defense is useless and should be abolished entirely. Insanity is a legal, not a medical definition. Therefore, mental illness and insanity are not synonymous: only some mental illness constitutes insanity. Insanity, however, includes not only mental illness but also mental deficiencies. Due to...
Words: 3143 - Pages: 13
...Insanity Defense Paper Team B CJS/305 June 1, 2015 David Harper Insanity Defense Paper Mr. Stu Dents is charged with the murder of his girlfriend and a legal team has been chosen to represent him. At the time of his arrest, Mr. Dents was witnessed by police yelling such things as “Alien” and “I am God, let me go! I am God!” Now facing not only homicide but several other criminal charges such as burglary, assault on police, and kidnapping, Mr. Dents has made the choice to plead insanity. However, the question remains as to whether or not there is enough for an insanity defense. Should Mr. Dents stand trial? What are the state requirements for an insanity defense? What steps must be taken to prove insanity? Trial Mr. Dents’ defense team needs to decide if he should stand trial or not. Based on his arrest information a reasonable person would believe Mr. Dents to suffer from some sort of mental illness. However, when deciding if a defendant should stand trial or not the decision is not based on their mindset during the crime or the arrest. The decision is based on the mental state of the defendant at the start of trial. According to Criminal Law Today, “a person is competent to stand trial if he or she, at the time of trial, has sufficient present ability to consult with his or her lawyer with a reasonable degree of understanding and a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings” (Schmalleger, Hall, & Dolatowski, 2014). Mr. Dents has already consulted...
Words: 1090 - Pages: 5
...The insanity plea defense is a criminal defendant that is found to have been legally insane when they committed a crime. They can be found not guilty because of their insanity. In some cases they can be found guilty but will serve less punishment because of their mental impairment. If someone claims to be legally insane, the courts can test them to see if it is true. They have 4 rules to determine insanity. The “M” noghten rule; that the defendant either did not understand what they did , or failed to distinguish right from wrong because of a “disease of mind”. The “irresistible impulse” test; result of a mental disease the defendant was unable to control and has impulse , which lead to a criminal act. The “durham” rule ; regardless of the clinical diagnosis the defendants “mental defect” resulted in a criminal act. The “Model penal code” Test for legal insanity; because of the diagnosed mental defect the defendant either failed to understand the criminality of their acts , or...
Words: 662 - Pages: 3
...Issues with the Insanity Defense Shorter University Abstract There are many cases that exist currently and historically regarding the “Insanity Defense.” In some cases, those convicted for murderous crimes, was said to be guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). In other words, the person that committed the crime, was not made aware of his or her actions at the time when the crime was committed or the perpetrator was not in his or her right mind; therefore, causing him or her to have some form of mental illness. However, the question becomes are there ethical issues within the use of this plea? The criminal justice system is supposed to protect the lives of others. In many cases, it only becomes a question of ethics if there is a misuse of the insanity defense. This defense can sometimes cause one to question this defense because victims of the perpetrator are left to resolve the death of their loved ones based on guilty by reason of insanity. In some situations, criminals are not competent to stand trial for their crime, which for families of the victims, closure seems to be never ending, especially if there is not a death or life sentence involved. However, criminals that commit crimes without knowledge of the act should be entitled to receive proper help and receive a fair trial. Therefore, this paper will focus on the history of the insanity defense and how the insanity defense came into play. A synopsis of some familiar cases involving the use of the insanity defense will...
Words: 2064 - Pages: 9
...The legal and medical models, definitions, of insanity are the same in the sense that they deem a person liable or non-reliable for committing a crime. However, they can be distinguished by the fact that one model believes you can be insane in a way that does not rend you incapable of seeing reality. The medical model suggests there could be degrees to insanity, that it’s a continuum. A continuum being the continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct. The legal model does not believe you could be insane and still know what you are doing. For the legal system its either/or, you’re either insane or you’re not. Insanity in the medical definition terms is a disease that has diagnosable symptoms and a prognosis. One of the first people to talk about the medical model of insanity is Freud and he said there were too little known about the brain to completely diagnose insanity and split the medical model of the mind into two parts, Neuroses and psychosis. The definition of the first part, Neuroses, was a mild mental illness that is not caused by organic diseases. Neuroses involves symptoms of stress like depression and anxiety, but the person does not...
Words: 881 - Pages: 4
... Where Does the Law Stop For years the insanity defense has turned into a difficult defense system in the court of law. The exact law changes from state to state, but the main idea remains the same. The insanity defense could apply and be used on an individual who is considered legally insane. The individual must have a severe mental disease or defect, their lawyer must prove that they were at the time of the crime. We need to abolish the insanity plea and make the death penalty the law of the land again. An individual accused of a crime can pled guilty that they committed the crime, or argue that they are not responsible for it because of a mental illness. “Not guilty by reason of insanity.” There’s an important distinction between pleading guilty by reason of insanity and diminished capacity. Diminished capacity is pleading to a lesser crime. Pleading insanity is a full defense to a crime, it’s equivalent to pleading “not guilty.” The insanity defense is a compromise on part of society and the law. Society believes that criminals should be punished for the crimes they committed and society believe that people who are ill should receive treatment for their illness. When we talk about the insanity defense, we go to the M'Naghten rule. The M'Naghten rule is the required test that must be given before the jury can decide whether the individual on trial knew that he or she could not tell right from wrong. This is the first famous legal test for insanity. In 1843, Englishman...
Words: 2718 - Pages: 11
...Insanity defense is a legal provision Insanity defense, which is also referred to as the mental disorder defense, is a defensive mechanism that is based on excuse in criminal trials. In the insanity defense, the defendant is alleged not to be responsible for the criminal actions because they have a persistent psychiatric illness or episodic. The insanity defense is one of the oldest fixtures of the Anglo-American legal tradition (Ewing, 2008 p. 188). Most of the cases that relate to the insanity defense are normally highly controversial, contested and time consuming. Consequently, in insanity defense, the defense is based on the information given by the accused in a criminal prosecution; the action is made this way to avoid defensive liability...
Words: 394 - Pages: 2
...Insanity Defense Before talking about insanity defense, I will define the world insanity first, which is something that people do to protect himself or herself without realizing the gravity or without realizing what he/she does when the action happens. It’s like a senseless action or mistake. Therefore, I did a little research about the “insanity defense”. Beside of my research I found that “the insanity defense in criminal term is where the defendant claims they are not responsible for their actions due to mental health problems”. Do they have to believe what the defendant says about that he/she is or was insane? I say no they have to make a test to show his/her insanity. As I say the law should brings something that show people or to prove the insanity of the defendant. Nonetheless the American law has come out with something that can prove or indentify the insanity of defendant like: M’Naghten Rule, the model penal code etc… In Maryland they uses model penal code to show if the defendant is was insane at the time he did the action. First the all the test of M’Naghten is “a test applied to determine whether a person accused of a crime was sane at the time of its commission and, therefore, criminal responsible for the wrongdoing.” (Queen v. M'Naghten, 8 Eng. Rep. 718 [1843]). The next test is the model penal code is the test that shows people that a defendant is not responsible for his/her act at the time he/she did the murder or something. Beside of my research I found...
Words: 460 - Pages: 2
...Insanity is defined as “The principal legal doctrine permitting consideration of mental abnormality in assessing criminal liability. Those acquitted of criminal charges as Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity are typically required to spend an indeterminate period of treatment in a secure mental health facility until they are no longer dangerous to self or others”.(Greene & Heilbrun). Each state carries its own statutes on how to deal with the insanity defense. In the state of California the follow the M’Naghten rule. The M’Naghten rule was established in 1843 after an Englishman by the name of Daniel M’Naghten murdered the secretary of the British prime minister. M’Naghten suffered from delusions that made him believe that he was being stalked and plotted against. He was charged with murder and plead not guilty by reason of insanity. He got off under his insanity plea, but ended up in a mental institution for the remainder of his life. This infuriated some people so Queen Victoria imposed the M’Naghten rule as a stricter guideline (or test) for the insanity defense. This rule implies that a person that commits a crime did not understand the difference between right and wrong at the time the crime had taken place. It must be proved by the defense that the person on trial has some sort of “disease of the mind” that would cause them to commit the crimes they have. It excuses the behavior that took place in the event that insanity can be proved. Because the M’Naghten rule is still...
Words: 1073 - Pages: 5
...How does one define craziness? In a world that has been existing for more than billions of years, there are so many definitions that it is actual insanity. There is so much that can define insanity, but can insanity define a person? In a court of law, such as the one in the United States of America or Great Britain, there are plenty of ways to define a suspect, such as “murderer” or “thief”, depending on what said suspect did. Most of these times, the person in question knows what has been done wrong, and that is why they are in a courtroom or imprisoned. But imagine this: what if one truly was dumbfounded about why said person was in trouble at all? That can be one of the ways to define craziness: the complete and utter incapacity to understand right from wrong. If a person goes through any kind of situation that puts...
Words: 1200 - Pages: 5
...Texas law, defendants must prove that are legally insane, under the rule M’Naghten, this rule must by present evidence that the defendant was before, during and after the committed crime mentally diseased. The defense must also prove that the defendant did not know during the period of the crime was wrong because of mental defect (Find law). In the case of Andrea Yates the defense has proved that Andrea was sent to a mental hospital several times for intent of suicide, and after she had her fourth child, she had a psychosis and decide to murder her kid saying if she does it at early age they can go to heaven, but in her mind found at explanation not kill her self because if she did it Satan will win. In the first trial was present the...
Words: 644 - Pages: 3
...http://www.lawcom.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/insanity_discussion_summary.pdf Definition: The insanity defence is set out in the “M’Naghten Rules” as laid down by the House of Lords in 1843. Must be suffering from the three points; Defect of reason, disease of the mind and not to know that doing or/ not to know it’s wrong. Burden of proof on D to show the balance of probabilities they are insane. It is generally accepted that there are problems with insanity. In only about 30 crown court cases a year is insanity used as a defence successfully in England and wales – this is a bad thing as the majority of offenders, prisoners have issues and self-medicate on drugs and become addicted and underlying health problems are never addressed. And therefore insanity defence could be used but isn’t. Unfair on people who could have qualified to use it but didn’t and are convicted. There are different disposals of it whether you are in the magistrates or in the crown court. ‘Disposed’ of differently in Magistrates where an order made under the mental health act 1983. Prosecution can raise insanity as an issue. Problems: 1. ‘Disease of the mind’ – M’Naughten in 1843, led to case law that distinguishes internal and external factors and as a result you get cases like Hennessy and Quick (diabetes). Insane meant something else back in 1843 and wouldn’t be associated with things such as diabetes and sleepwalking. Mind doesn’t mean brain; sleepwalking (burgess) and epilepsy...
Words: 1071 - Pages: 5
...revenge), has been a hot topic to cover. In several instances, the shooters have plead for insanity in argument that they were not sane at the time of the massacre and could not identify what was wrong from right. These pleas have become a fall-back argument for some of the pseudocommandos, and in doing so, a select few were found guilty of murder, but the consequences of the massacres committed were eased. In the end, after the school rampages, or SR’s, were committed, the true ethics of the treatment of the shooters must come into question in regards to the insanity plea. How...
Words: 1024 - Pages: 5
