To the contrary, the legal definition shows that it is a very serious mental illness and cannot just be thrown around. This change in definition helps the reader to better understand the verdicts and helps them to see the legal system in a logical way. In this particular case, the lawyers that Dr. Lunde was testifying against were trying to use the insanity plea in order to protect their client when in reality it was just hurting them and making them appear desperate. Dr. Lunde’s words on the topic unveil some of the cheats used in the legal…
HISTORY: The jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the ground of insanity. As a policy matter the House of Lords sought clarification on the insanity defense from the Court of Common Pleas. ISSUE: Should an insane defendant who did not know the nature of his act, or did not…
Mrs. Andrea Yates past life showed that she has had a history of mental illness. Mrs. Andrea Yates had been brought to the hospital many times for strings of mental cases that she had received treatment for because she had harsh depression and the depression came due to psychosis. One time when Yates was in the hospital, she was described as an intensely psychotic woman. Yates has tried many times to commit suicide; for instance one time she tried to overdose by using antidepressants and even after that did not work she attempted to murder herself by stabbing herself. Yates has been through unfavorable paranoia.…
Working in the Human Service field and focusing on the criminal justice and forensic side opens up the opportunity to advocate for individuals who have been involved in our judicial system. “These practitioners are often tasked with coordinating and providing a diverse array of assistance, referral, advocacy, intervention, and other forms of support and services for diverse populations of individuals involved in the criminal justice system who are often impacted by mental illness.” (Brown, J. & Cich, J. (2017,…
Mr. Williams’s Insanity Case According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, out of the estimated 2,220,300 people locked up in jails and detention facilities in the US only 17% of the inmates that need mental help receive it. Therefore, there is a remainder of 83% of inmates that need mental help but don't receive it. This is an issue because all of these inmates could be considered legally insane. This matters because with just being able to prove that the inmate is insane they could be let out on the insanity plea to be able to receive the treatment that they need. To prove this you must be able to show that the person confuses fantasy with reality, he/she cannot control their impulses due to psychosis, and they have or portray…
Instead of looking at mental illnesses when dealing with similar crimes, it may lead the public to perceive these crimes, as a result of an extreme emotional mental state. This change in perception can cause fear and panic, since the public will believe that more people are likely to commit crimes out of anger as compared to people who suffer from a mental illness. This is not necessarily true, however it can insinuate that fear and mentality among the…
One attorney describes the need for more mental health treatment and…
There are many experts that have explored the idea of how the Insanity Defense could be “fixed” for the public to agree with. Richard Bonnie, a professor of public policy, law and medicine at the University of Virginia, has came to the theory that the insanity defense should not be abolished but should be narrowed. He came to the conclusion that the criteria of what qualifies for “Insanity”, by narrowing the criteria, it will help persuade the public that the insanity defense is not harmful for the overall public, but it is a healthier outcome. Another way to help the public agree is to inform the public what actually happens in these court cases, and help sort out the…
First, Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell designed the “rest cure” to “force women back into the appropriate sphere of culture” (Perkins Gilman Hysteria Lecture, Suarez). Essentially, this entails that women were to “dumb down” for men and praise the male population. The rest cure was mainly designed to suppress women’s brains and their intelligence. Mitchell believed that women should not be educated for it would damage their brains and ultimately lead them to hysteria. What the rest cure did was make women go insane, seen in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.…
Over time, new laws are created to help make the judgment if one is innocent or guilty based on facts and evidence. It has become more difficult to prove innocence or guilt because of certain laws. The creation of more specific and detailed laws is due to American society. The insanity defense is a specific law which has gotten harder to prove. It is a defense used in the court of law to plead not guilty due to a mental state that does not allow the accuser to know what (s)he has done.…
These myths, when sustained, or affirmed, have the potential to produce consequences that undermine the intent of our criminal justice system. It is the intent of this essay to address some of the myths that are related to verdicts of not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder [NCRMD]. In doing so, this paper will focus on the following myths: those found NCRMD are…
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…
Prompt: How does Conrad show the relation between insanity and physical illness? How does this book show the impact of someone's environment on their mental health? Intro: Have you ever been to a new place and felt uneasy?…
The amount of individual that go through the criminal justice system that have a mental illness has become a growing issue in the criminal justice system. Many individual that enter the criminal justice system are bound to end up in prison, where they have little access to mental health help. The amount of individual that enter the criminal justice system that have a serious mental illness is estimated to be 16.9 percent. These individuals are usually repeat offenders that circulate through the system because they do not receive the treatment that they need. (Almquist & Dodd, 2009).…
Rosenhan, D. L. (1973). On being sane in insane places. Science, 179, 250-258. Insane or Not David Rosenhan conducted a study investigating the ability to distinguish the difference between the sane and insane in insane environments.…