...Why criminals shouldn’t be able to plea insanity Just imagine for a second this scenario. Its premier night for the most anticipated movie of the year “The Dark Knight Rises” and you’re finally making it into your seat after standing for about an hour outside the theatre. The lights dim as the movie starts, and bang! A guy busts through the door fully armed and starts firing into the seat. Seventy people are injured, twelve of them die. The man responsible for this crime is currently on trial, and has the chance to be acquitted because he plans on pleading insanity. Prosecutors in this case proclaim: This just allows the defense to think through how they want to proceed…That makes it easier for the defense to plan its best case. Holmes could plead insanity and would wind up in a mental hospital indefinitely – and would never face execution, if the jury finds in his favor (Campbell). This would not be fair to the people who were injured and to the loved ones of the people who lost their lives in the shooting. Just as a kid would do anything not to get in trouble by their mother, so would a criminal who could face life in jail or execution, which is why pleading insanity shouldn’t be up to a criminal, because they would do anything to get out of jail time. The insanity plea, also known as the insanity defense, is a type criminal defense used in order to reduce their liability in court. Barry S. Edwards, a Minnesota criminal defense attorney, asserts that “It is estimated that ...
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...Introduction In this paper, you will read about the different insanity statutes being used in our country and a little about how they became our insanity statutes. I am going to discuss which insanity statute is being used in the state I live in and how often it is used. Since we will know how often this defense is used, you will also learn how successful it is. I will discuss the major criticisms and whether the psychologist should provide an ultimate opinion in sanity cases. Lastly, we will learn about some of the difficulties in providing appropriate psychological treatment for the mentally ill who are not seen as insane and are subsequently convicted of their charges, while incarcerated. The Insanity Defense During a pretrial a defendant may opt to plea “not guilty by reason of insanity” (NGRI). The insanity statutes are; The M’Naughten Rule, Model Penal Code (which is now known as the Brawner Rule). “The M’Naughten rule was developed to determine whether or not an individual accused of a crime was mentally ill at the time the crime was committed, and if they would be held criminally responsible for their “wrongdoing” (M’Naughten Rule, n.d.). The Brawner Rule “states that a defendant is not responsible for criminal conduct if he, ‘at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect, [lacks] substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality [wrongfulness] of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law’” (Greene, 2010 p 210)...
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...Beneficial Defense In keeping the insanity defense, as it stands, the benefits outweigh the problems. This defense fixes problems with the mentally insane and leads to curing more of the mentally ill. Viewing the defense as a benefit seems to fit if it helps more people than it harms, although other views have been brought against it opposing the defense. The jurisdictions that have kept the defense see it rarely and take it as a claim of innocence. The innocent people who have severe mental illness might finally have an opportunity to become viable members of society through rehabilitation. This plea may also shed light on the severity and seriousness that mental illness plays in our communities as these individuals are of great...
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...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...
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...Insanity defense is a mental disorder people use in criminal trials, saying that they were not in their right mind when they committed that crime. These people argue that, they shouldn’t be charge for a crime they committed, because they didn’t know better. In some cases those who committed crimes weren’t in their right state of mind, but other use this excuse to get out of jail time. A documented history of mental illness should be clearly stated be clearly established in insanity defense. Instead of the person just claiming they are crazy and getting away with the crime. The background of insanity defense McNaughton stated that “if a mad man or a natural fool, or a lunatic in the time of his lunacy do, this is no felonious act for they cannot be said to have any understanding will”. Then came the wild beast case (pbs.com insanity defense background) that started in the late 18th century. This test was used to see if the person who committed the crime was insane at the time, their actions should be of a baby or animal. In 1984 insanity defense Act was created, after the case on Hinckley and Ronald Reagan....
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...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 Daniel M’Naghten...
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...Mary Winkler of Tennessee was a 32, when she was charged with fatally shooting her husband. In 2March of 2006 Mary Winkler’s husband was found shot in the back, at the church of Christ. Winkler was convicted of voluntary manslaughter by a jury of her peers. In Winkler’s defense her attorneys claimed she had been physically abused by her husband. In Mary Winkler’s defense, her attorney used an abuse excuse; according to M. Lippman, “ Dershowitz defines an abuse excuse as a legal defense in which defendants claim that the crimes with which they are charged result from their own victimization and that they should not be held responsible” (2010 Ch. 9). In her defense, witnesses claimed they saw bruises on Winkler and had even confronted her, asking if she was a victim of domestic violence. Winkler even denied abuse to close family members. The defense painted a picture of a traumatized wife, whom had accidently shot her husband. Winkler claimed she did point the gun at her husband but did not mean for the gun to go off. Winkler’s Attorney said Winkler was physically abused, sexually abused, and emotionally abused for years. Even though Winkler’s husband was a preacher, and according to family friend a good person, the jury sided with Winkler and found her guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The judge sentenced Winkler to 210 days in jail; after 67 days served, she was sentenced she was released. Ted Bundy is one of the most famous serial murders in United States...
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...others. He said that God told him to do it. The doctors said that he suffered from a religious psychosis (Rawlins). Some people seem to get away with these kinds of heinous crimes because of insanity and others, who really have mental problems, get locked away in prison and forgotten about. The definition of insanity is “the mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct his/her affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior” (Insanity). In other words, a person may live in a fantasy world and believe that things are going on around them that really are not. Also, a person may not be able to control their urges. For instance, a person may get the urge to flip someone the middle finger that cuts them off in traffic. This would be an uncontrollable impulsive behavior. Many serial killers use this line of defense as a strategy to get put into a mental hospital rather than prison. Mental hospitals give prisoners less rules and more freedoms than do Pierce 2 prisons. Some killers though, are truly insane. There is a fine line, as well as a good defense attorney, as to which side you fall on, sane or insane. Jeffrey Dahmer committed at least seventeen murders and entered a not guilty by reason of insanity plea but was found guilty of fifteen murders and found to be sane. One might ask how Dahmer can be sane after butchering so many young men and even keeping parts of their bodies in his...
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...People who are charged with offences in the United States will very often attempt to use one of the criminal defences to make them not criminally responsible or less criminally responsible for the charge. Some of the Criminal defences used are the insanity defense, claiming that the offender was mentally insane, the necessity defence, claiming that the crime was committed to prevent a more serious crime from occurring, and being underage. Each of these three criminal defences are very effective ways of reducing or eliminating criminal responsibility from the offender. A person's age is a large variable in determining whether or not the person is criminally responsible. and child under the age of seven years old is most likely not going to...
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...Choose two of the defenses or syndrome outlined in this chapter and explain why you think they should or should not be accepted as a defenses in criminal law cases. The insanity defense states that you committed the alleged crime, but had no knowledge of the act that were committed at the time was right or wrong. I believe it should be allowed as a defense in criminal law cases, but due to the difficulty in proving beyond the reasonable doubt that the criminal was insane during the commitment of their crimes and the ethical implications of allowing disturbed criminals to avoid imprisonment. But I also agree that individuals should not be punished for criminal acts if they lack certain characteristics that relate to the ability to engage in rational thinking, including wrongfulness and consequences of their actions, or control their behavior. Those psychopathic traits may be inherited, that has set the stage for arguments that even those who commit the worst of crimes should not be held responsible for them. After all, they didn’t choose their genetic makeup or to be born without the capacity for understanding. When it has been successful, the apparent key to the success of these defenses lies in the concrete and observable nature of the abnormality: juries can see the tumor on a brain scan, and may be presented with evidence that the criminal behavior did not occur before the injury or that it stops after treatment. Although, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is stated to be...
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...sides addressed are whether Perry murdered the family willingly and if he planned out the murders beforehand. At the end, the jury deemed Perry guilty because he wanted no witnesses to be left, which meant that the Clutters had to die, and Perry picked up the shotgun shells after the murdering took place, which displays Perry’s lack of insanity during the murdering and his plan of not being caught after the murdering took place. The defense emphasized their arguments on Perry’s poor mental state throughout the trial. They started with stating the Kansas law, which explained that people who cannot make decisions due to their poor mental state should not receive charges. By reciting this law, the defendants could then prove that Perry is insane and he did not intentionally kill the Clutters. To supplement their case, the defendants brought in two valid witnesses: Tex Smith and Willie Jay. Tex...
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...“Texas is the toughest state in the country to win an insanity defense case” Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, July 26, 2006 Andrea Yates grew up in Houston, Texas in a typical Roman Catholic family environment. Her family has been described as middle-class American family. Her father was a school teacher who taught shop. He would retire and then later suffer from Alzheimer’s. He passed away before the killings. Her mother worked to keep the house running and attend to the families 5 children. Andrea, born on July 2, 1964 was the youngest and considered the brightest of the siblings. She proved to be a high achiever coiled with personal motivation as demonstrated in her role as captain of the swim team, National Honor Society member, and valedictorian. She graduated from Milby High School in 1982. She went on to the University of Houston, where she completed a two-year pre-nursing program. Upon completion of the pre-nursing program, she was accepted to the University of Texas School of Nursing in Houston from which she graduated in 19986. Andrea then took a position with the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center where she worked from 1986 to 1994 as a registered nurse (Denno, 2003). Andre met her future husband much the way any other person might. In 1989, Andrea and Russell (Rusty) were both living in the same apartment complex. Rusty, “a summa cum laude graduate of Auburn University, was designing computer systems for NASA” (Denno, 2003) was described as popular...
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... WATCH OUT IF THE CRIME IS “ATTEMPTED …” - THEN INTENT IS NEEDED CRIMINAL LAW MURDER • Murder: To be guilty of murder, one must unlawfully kill another human being with malice aforethought which may be (i) intent to kill; (ii) intent to inflict great bodily injury; (iii) reckless indifference to an unjustifiably high risk to human life (depraved heart); or (iv) the intent to commit a felony. • At common law, the crime of attempted murder requires both a specific intent by the actor to kill the victim and an act that puts the D in close proximity to completing the crime (For MPC, it must be a “substantial step” rather than close proximity). • If you intend to kill A but kill B instead, you cannot be guilty of the ATTEMPTED murder of B. • If you want to kill A, but shoot at B thinking it is A, and you wound C, you are guilty of the attempted murder of B (MBE 1992) • You are liable for murder if your act was not only the “but for” cause, but also a natural and foreseeable result – the “proximate” cause. • Accidental killing committed during the course of a felony is common law murder. • Common law murder is wanton and reckless. • No crime if you systematically deprive child of food, don’t call doctor, child would have died from malnutrition in a few months, but child’s cause of death is cancer. • Russian roulette is a killing with “abandoned and malignant heart” b/c it exhibits a recklessness indifference to the “very high” risk of death or serious injury. • Depraved...
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...In Common law as after marriage husband deserve to possess all of wife property and her income so if she files a suit for judicial proceeding then husband must bear all of that cost. But in Muhammadan Law as even after marriage wife property is not taken or given to husband so husband will not bear the cost of proceedings. CONCLUSION: As by keeping in view all the given facts it become clear that if the wife don’t want to live with husband and if her case fall under any such ground then she can claim judicial divorce. From Prophet (saw) Hadees and through Quranic verse it is made clear that ALLAH has allowed a Muslim women to seek divorce if she cannot live under the rules and limits prescribed by Allah. The act of divorce is neither prohibited nor recommendatory but it is disliked by Allah. And if any women seek khula she must give back the Mehr she received but husband should not demand any gifts which he has given after...
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...This is the foundation and guidance that justices use in the United States Supreme Court. There are only eight states in the United States that permit assisted suicide However, everyone has fundamental rights that are granted to them for being a citizen. For example, the First Amendment grants everyone the fundamental right to practice their own religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, etc. The 15th Amendment lets people have the right to vote, as well as having the right to incarcerate or appoint the death penalty for a defendant, while serving on a jury panel. Individuals have the right to bear arms due to the Second Amendment, people are allowed to legally kill an individual due to stand your ground law, and the 14th Amendment lets women have the legal right to terminate a pregnancy. For example, Roe v. Wade, the United States Supreme Court case that granted and permits women to terminate a pregnancy. The judicial circuit of Florida found George Zimmerman not guilty of the death of Trayvon Martin in the, State of Florida v. George Zimmerman (2013) case. Yet, people do not have the right to be put to death on their own terms. Why is there not a law in the Constitution for individuals that want to end their lives by physician-assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia? The United States Constitution does not mention the right to die, either dying by physician-assisted suicide or voluntary euthanasia. Why are women allowed to terminate a pregnancy, but a person has to hurt...
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