Pros And Cons Of Insanity Plea

The insanity plea is used widely in the court system to alleviate a quilty verdict connected to a crime as person has committed. For the insanity defense to be effective in a court case, a person must be professionally proven to have mental issues that would prevent them from being held responsible for his or her actions. The insanity plea has its pros and its cons when it is being presented as a defense. For the plea to be effective for the justice system, the defendant, and the victim or society, it must be looked at carefully and thoroughly to prevent the abuse of using the plea. Both the system and the jurors should be made aware of what entering an insanity plea means, the laws that surround it, what actions need to be taken to prove …show more content…
The insanity plea is the only way for the justice system to fairly try mentally unbalanced individuals, but tougher laws and regulations should be evaluated to prevent abuse of the plea. To improve the criminal justice system and decide whether or not an individual is insane or not, the legislation level of the criminal justice system should create and amend laws to ensure justice for the victims and to convict and reasonably punish individuals who plea insanity for the crime he or she committed and to enhance the courts capabilities of identifying those who are capable of standing trial. In reference to D.J. Jaffe’s, a co-founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center and founder of Mental Illness Policy Organization. Mr. Jaffe states, “If the cause of the crime was lack of treatment for mental illness, then the solution is to reform laws so we can sentence these individuals to mandatory long-term mental illness treatment—including medications—so they never become violent again. The sentence to treatment could be as long, or longer, than the maximum sentence that would be imposed had the person been found guilty. If this change were adopted, incarcerating the mentally ill would rarely be needed.” With the increasingly common use of the insanity defense, it is becoming necessary for the government to amend laws that relate to …show more content…
We must ask ourselves if it is fair for a person who has committed a crime to go free and be allowed to go back into society and possibly commit another crime? Today crimes are becoming more and more frequent regardless of gender or abilities. We should look at the laws that enable recurring crimes and amend the laws bring justice to the victims and enable the courts to be more effective in reducing the crimes in our communities and allow the courts to order treatment for individuals who have a dire need for