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 impulsive behavior. Therefore the argument is that Mr. Henry Williams is legally insane and must be let off on the insanity plea so that he can receive the urgent treatment that he needs. A number of Mr. Williams’s actions have recently suggested that he is legally insane. For example, he had been stalking his victim for 8 sleepless nights and he claims to have been able to hear his victim’s heartbeat as he says, “... There came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound such as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well too. It was the beating of the old man’s heart” (Po 628). This on its own sounds very insane but furthermore it helps prove his legal insanity because he can't really hear the old man’s heartbeat and he’s really not because it’s all in his head. He cannot distinguish fantasy from reality because he did not just only hear the man's heartbeat but he also believed that everyone else in the room could. In addition, Mr. Williams believes that he has powers and as he was killing the old man he said, “Never before that night had I felt the extent of my own powers- of my sagacity” (Po 176). He does not have powers and the phrase ,never before, and the word,had, suggest that this is not just a one time thing and that he has lived believing that he has some sort or kind of powers. This proves the fact that Mr. Williams is insane because he is living in his own world where he has powers instead of living in reality and acknowledging the fact that he's legally insane. Furthermore, when Mr. Williams was being interrogated by the authorities and he believed that he could hear the old man's heartbeat once again he stated, “I paced the floor to and fro with heavy strides, as if excited to fury by the observation of the men- but the noise steadily increased. Oh God! What could I do? I foamed—I raved—I swore! I swing the chair upon which I had been sitting and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose overall and continually increased” (Po 181). In making this comment, very well demonstrates the impulsive behavior that Mr. …show more content…
Williams is legally insane by saying that he very well knew what he was doing. On the other hand it is very true that Mr. Williams took the time to carefully plot and plan out the old man’s murder in fact he said, “ You should have seen how wisely I proceeded—with what what caution—with why foresight—with what dissimulation I went to work” (Po 175). This shows that Mr. Williams took his time to plan out the murder because he took precautions so that there would be no evidence left upon the fact that he committed the murder. This is important to take into consideration, because this shows that Mr. Williams knew that what he was about to do was not right and that it also came with consequences therefore he decided to take several precautions. Only most sane people would take these precautions because they take into consideration that their bad actions come with consequences. Nevertheless how sane these statements may make the defendant seem, there is way more evidence to prove his insanity than to prove his sanity. One quote can't justify weather he is sane or insane. Therefore, the argument is still that he is insane and needs to receive urgent