Ethical Dilemma: The ethical dilemma of abolishing the insanity defense remains an issue when considering to strip mentally ill of the plea. The culpability, or rationality, of mentally ill offenders is often questioned when considering sentencing in U.S. courts. Is it legal to punish a person who is not mentally capable of telling right from wrong, regardless of the circumstances? Attorney’s inability to guarantee psychological defect in some cases adds to the impossibility of these situations. The idea that Mens rea should become invalid if mental illness is detected due to the idea that these individuals may lack rationality (Hathaway, 2009). The injustice of stripping mentally ill of the right to plea inculpable is an issue abolitionist
