In the words of D.J. Jaffe, an established journalist for the Wall Street Journal, “Not guilty by reason of insanity is an inadequate remedy to violence by individuals with mental illness.” The United States justice system is meant to serve one main purpose: ensuring justice for the guilty. Yet one issue that often comes up is if the justice for one person should be different from the justice for another. This issue often comes up specifically in relation to mental illness, and in the insanity defense. The insanity defense is used as a defense when a mentally ill individual is accused of murder, but it is only used in 1% of cases in the US due to its low success rates and many requirements that are difficult to meet. The main requirements
