The 21st century has evolved into a world twisted by the images presented in the media. Widely known issues in our culture often have inaccurate portrayals affecting our understanding and perceptions of real world problems. In particular, the “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” plea has become an infamous legal concept as an outcome of its’ use in courtrooms and entertainment mediums throughout Hollywood. Successful NGRI verdicts of trials following notorious crimes are broadcasted on the news, only bringing awareness to the crime but never the steps or reasoning in determining insanity, falsely depicting that anyone can plea insane. For example, the news over Andrea Yates drowning her children spread like wildfire across the nation, horrifying
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The suspects of the incident shifted throughout the episode, until coming to the conclusion that the mental state of the mother was unhealthy after obtaining her confession. At the end of the trial of Doreen Whitlock, the judge sentences to her to a conviction was 25 years to be spent at a mental facility due to her successful acquittal. With the rise and importance of mental health, it is vital for the American public to understand the misrepresentations of the legal system in our society. In this paper, I will talk about the how this specific Law & Order episode depicts the “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” defense.
The Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity is attainable with no …show more content…
Typically, restricted to state circumstances, the M'Naghten Rule is the proper method for examining legal insanity. The test concentrates on the individual’s capability of not knowing what they were doing or that their actions were wrong. In order for the M’Naghten Rule to prove insanity FindLaw.com explains the rule as “The M'Naghten Rule (or test) focuses on whether a criminal defendant knew the nature of the crime or understood right from wrong” (“The M'Naghten Rule”). Hence, if the perpetrator was not able to distinguish their actions from right and wrong, then, under those circumstances, they cannot be held accountable for the crime. Alternately, the plea is pursued to lessen the severity of the verdict and to be followed up with psychotherapy. 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
The suspects of the incident shifted throughout the episode, until coming to the conclusion that the mental state of the mother was unhealthy after obtaining her confession. At the end of the trial of Doreen Whitlock, the judge sentences to her to a conviction was 25 years to be spent at a mental facility due to her successful acquittal. With the rise and importance of mental health, it is vital for the American public to understand the misrepresentations of the legal system in our society. In this paper, I will talk about the how this specific Law & Order episode depicts the “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity” defense.
The Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity is attainable with no …show more content…
Typically, restricted to state circumstances, the M'Naghten Rule is the proper method for examining legal insanity. The test concentrates on the individual’s capability of not knowing what they were doing or that their actions were wrong. In order for the M’Naghten Rule to prove insanity FindLaw.com explains the rule as “The M'Naghten Rule (or test) focuses on whether a criminal defendant knew the nature of the crime or understood right from wrong” (“The M'Naghten Rule”). Hence, if the perpetrator was not able to distinguish their actions from right and wrong, then, under those circumstances, they cannot be held accountable for the crime. Alternately, the plea is pursued to lessen the severity of the verdict and to be followed up with psychotherapy. 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