Arguments Against The Insanity Defense

Improved Essays
Over time, new laws are created to help make the judgment if one is innocent or guilty based on facts and evidence. It has become more difficult to prove innocence or guilt because of certain laws. The creation of more specific and detailed laws is due to American society. The insanity defense is a specific law which has gotten harder to prove. It is a defense used in the court of law to plead not guilty due to a mental state that does not allow the accuser to know what (s)he has done. American society's view is causing this law to be on the verge of being abolished. From the creation of the insanity defense, American society’s view on whether the insanity defense should be kept has been split. Before the insanity defense was developed there

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    To the contrary, the legal definition shows that it is a very serious mental illness and cannot just be thrown around. This change in definition helps the reader to better understand the verdicts and helps them to see the legal system in a logical way. In this particular case, the lawyers that Dr. Lunde was testifying against were trying to use the insanity plea in order to protect their client when in reality it was just hurting them and making them appear desperate. Dr. Lunde’s words on the topic unveil some of the cheats used in the legal…

    • 712 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    This Court will have to allow this defense because in Arizona 's limited insanity defense in Clark v. Arizona, and denied certiorari in Delling v. Idaho, a case alleging that Idaho 's replacement of the insanity defense with a "Guilty but mentally ill" verdict constitutes a due process violation. Because of the weighty implications of the decision to plead insanity, the defendant must be the one to decide whether to use the insanity…

    • 1544 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Some people are up against the concept of insanity defense where they believe everyone who commits crime must take the criminal responsibility for their deviant behavior. On the other hand, there are group of people who believe the NCRMD is necessary in our criminal justice system, in order to sustain the equality for mentally ill person. Thus, the question of whether NCRMD is necessary in our criminal justice system is not a black or white question where there is a clear answer. However, the truth is that the NCRMD defense has created in our criminal justice system with a good purpose of providing equal rights for the mentally disordered people. This criminal defense does not exists and works as the sink hole for the accused to easily escape or avoid his or her criminal responsibility.…

    • 1688 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Mrs. Andrea Yates past life showed that she has had a history of mental illness. Mrs. Andrea Yates had been brought to the hospital many times for strings of mental cases that she had received treatment for because she had harsh depression and the depression came due to psychosis. One time when Yates was in the hospital, she was described as an intensely psychotic woman. Yates has tried many times to commit suicide; for instance one time she tried to overdose by using antidepressants and even after that did not work she attempted to murder herself by stabbing herself. Yates has been through unfavorable paranoia.…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Sociopathy Vs Psychopathy

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The problem associated with this is that fact that because of this the standards to claim insanity were easier to do with the DSM than by the PCL-R. The DSM is what is more commonly used in Frye Jurisdictions. This evidence shows the unequal advantage of how the simplicity of what jurisdiction and individual is in can show significant impact on…

    • 1481 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    That’s not important in the jury room (Grishman 107)”. The insanity plea is used for a wide variety of cases. Part of the outcome is that the accused convicts of the cases believed that they were legally insane while committing the crime. Furthermore, a majority of the insanity pleas is rejected which makes it extremely rare to follow through. Through such cases, the insanity plea is commonly used as an excuse to prevent themselves from going to prison.…

    • 1270 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This verdict can often be mistaken for the defence of diminished responsibility / capacity despite there being many major differences between the two. Although both are there to be used by mentally ill defendants, reason of insanity is a full defense to a crime and diminished responsibility / capacity is not. Pleading not guilty by reason of insanity is essentially equivalent to pleading not guilty, diminished responsibility / capacity is however just the defendant pleading to a lesser crime, the fact they are mentally ill is used as a mitigating factor. The law presumes that every person has free will, is responsible for their actions and should therefore be punished in accordance with the seriousness of their crime.…

    • 1250 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many experts that have explored the idea of how the Insanity Defense could be “fixed” for the public to agree with. Richard Bonnie, a professor of public policy, law and medicine at the University of Virginia, has came to the theory that the insanity defense should not be abolished but should be narrowed. He came to the conclusion that the criteria of what qualifies for “Insanity”, by narrowing the criteria, it will help persuade the public that the insanity defense is not harmful for the overall public, but it is a healthier outcome. Another way to help the public agree is to inform the public what actually happens in these court cases, and help sort out the…

    • 1385 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The insanity plea is a defense in the court of law put in place for people who suffer from mental illness and commit crimes. Under this defense, the mentally ill are not entirely held responsible for their actions given the terms that they were not in the correct state of mind when the crime took place. The person would admit to committing the crime, but then say they are not guilty by reason of insanity (Francone). This plea has been used in my cases throughout history.…

    • 1321 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Insanity Defense History

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For centuries, criminals have been categorized as insane, but does that justify their crime? The majority of higher profile criminals file for the insanity plea which then affects their punishment and life, causing us to consider if ours is safe. The insanity defense should not be admissible in court because of the interest for the public, increases in legal costs, and manipulation of the legal system. The insanity defense’s history plays into our everyday legal actions and in order to understand the problem, you need to understand the defense.…

    • 959 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The state will imprison but also treat the defendant for their mental illness if they were declared “guilty but mentally ill”. There is an approval of the defense because the mentally ill defendant couldn’t understand that the criminal act they were committing was illegal. When the defendants are declared “not guilty by reason of insanity” then they will go free of prosecution and might be treated for their mental illness. People agree with the Insanity Defense because they think that the “insane” were not in the right mind at the time of the criminal action and could not decipher right from wrong or they didn’t know that their actions were criminal. These people think that the Insanity Defense is fair because, when the defendant is declared mentally insane than they may be incarcerated and treated; which will punish for the criminal act and treat them for their illness or they may only be treated which is believed to show that treatment is the goal and the way that is wanted to use to help the mentally ill instead of punishing them.…

    • 1102 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Insanity Defense Papers

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages

    According to Morse and Richard, “some form of an insanity defense is a matter of fundamental fairness in a just society. It gives doctrinal expression to fundamental moral and legal principles that have been recognized by the common law for centuries and that the supreme court has repeatedly acknowledged (Morse, Richard, 488). Also, the insanity defense has been in the law since the 14th century and almost all state and federal law makers still agree on its importance today (Morse, Richard,…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Their proof must show that the accused has criminal liability, accountability, or culpability (Pg. 255). In the absence of one or both of the attributes the insanity may be used. To begin with, as stated by Torry and Billick, the insanity defense was used as far back as 1581 when there was a legal note in place for those who could distinguish the difference between right and wrong and those who could not (Pg. 256). By the Eighteenth Century the insanity defense was distinguished by, if the accused could only understand the ramifications of what he had done like an infant or even a wild animal would, then he would not be held responsible for said crime. Today, however, the law uses several different rules, including the M’Naghten rule, to determine if person’s mental state during the act of committing the crime was such that he will use the insanity defense.…

    • 1542 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We learn that Robert is a prestiged mathematician who was plagued with a rare mental illness. David Auburn hints at the idea that Catherine, Roberts’s daughter, was also gifted with the same mathematical skills as her father. In act 1, Robert and Catherine get into an argument over what are good days or bad days. Catherine seems to believe that the good days are those days when you just stay in bed all day and don’t leave, but Robert believes that those are days lost. Robert shows his concern for Catherine when he states “ You sleep till noon, you eat junk food, you don’t work, the dishes pile up in the sink… Some days you don’t get up, you don’t get out of bed”(Auburn 9).…

    • 1268 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to Bartol and Bartol (2011, p. 244) if an individual pleads not guilty by the circumstance of insanity, then the psychiatric evaluation should be focused on the individual 's mental state at the time of the crime. This basis is very much in line with the recommendation of Dr. Siegel in his letter to the…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays