Insanity Plea The insanity plea has been used for more than a century dating back to the first use of temporary insanity used in 1859. This plea is only used in a small portion of cases, yet the outrage over this type of plea is high. The outrage from the public could be from lack of understanding, but many individuals in today’s society argue that the insanity plea should be abolished. Understanding the process of an insanity plea, the grounds an individual must be in to plead insane, as well as what states have abolished the insanity plea can provide answers to the skewed perspective of the insanity plea given to the general public. The argument of justice is heavily debated in the case of the insanity plea. By granting a guilty but
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The insanity defense often takes two forms: the cognitive insanity and the volitional insanity. Cognitive insanity must prove that the individual was so mentally unstable at the time of the illegal action, that they are incapable of knowing their actions were wrong. On the other hand, volitional insanity must prove that while the defendant was capable of knowing right from wrong, they suffered from “irresistible impulses” enabling the individual from controlling their actions (Gale & Lehman, 2008). While these are the most common forms of insanity, there are other forms of the insanity plea such as the Gay Panic defense (Mince-Dieder, 2015) and The Durham rule, often called the “product rule” (Gale & Lehman, …show more content…
Andrew Goldstein (2005). Goldstein was tried for the murder of Kendra Webdale who Goldstein pushed in front of an oncoming subway train on January 3, 1999. During Goldstein’s first trial, his defense plead insanity which ended in a hung jury (CULS, 2015). Ten years prior to the murder, Goldstein was in and out of several mental hospitals with the claim of schizophrenia, yet none of the doctors who treated Goldstein believed he suffered from the mental disease. However, during Goldstein’s test to clarify if he was competent to withstand trial, Angela Hegarty, the prosecutions forensic psychiatrist, ruled the Goldstein did in fact suffer from schizophrenia (CULS, 2015). Prior to the murder, records indicated the Goldstein had attempted to check himself into several hospitals where he was denied. After two separate trials, Goldstein was found
The insanity defense often takes two forms: the cognitive insanity and the volitional insanity. Cognitive insanity must prove that the individual was so mentally unstable at the time of the illegal action, that they are incapable of knowing their actions were wrong. On the other hand, volitional insanity must prove that while the defendant was capable of knowing right from wrong, they suffered from “irresistible impulses” enabling the individual from controlling their actions (Gale & Lehman, 2008). While these are the most common forms of insanity, there are other forms of the insanity plea such as the Gay Panic defense (Mince-Dieder, 2015) and The Durham rule, often called the “product rule” (Gale & Lehman, …show more content…
Andrew Goldstein (2005). Goldstein was tried for the murder of Kendra Webdale who Goldstein pushed in front of an oncoming subway train on January 3, 1999. During Goldstein’s first trial, his defense plead insanity which ended in a hung jury (CULS, 2015). Ten years prior to the murder, Goldstein was in and out of several mental hospitals with the claim of schizophrenia, yet none of the doctors who treated Goldstein believed he suffered from the mental disease. However, during Goldstein’s test to clarify if he was competent to withstand trial, Angela Hegarty, the prosecutions forensic psychiatrist, ruled the Goldstein did in fact suffer from schizophrenia (CULS, 2015). Prior to the murder, records indicated the Goldstein had attempted to check himself into several hospitals where he was denied. After two separate trials, Goldstein was found