Insanity defense

How do you feel about a defense that is made basically to allow a criminal justification over a crime they committed? Well thats the insanity defense for you. It has been around for over two-hundred years and since then it has had several reforms brought to it. It was brought around to help the mentally ill, allowing them to plead not guilty to a crime because they lacked the mental capacity to understand right from wrong or appreciate why what they did was wrong. Basically it states they aren’t…

The abolishment of the insanity defense should not be taken into consideration. Many believe that the insanity defense does not really serve a good purpose in the criminal law. However, it is essential for defendants with mental illnesses. Four states already went through the process and abolished the plea. It is imperative for the rest of the states to reject the idea of getting rid of this defense. Rather than removing the insanity defense, the administration of it should be improved. There…

majority of higher profile criminals file for the insanity plea which then affects their punishment and life, causing us to consider if ours is safe.The insanity defense should not be admissible in court because of the interest for the public, increases in legal costs, and manipulation of the legal system. The insanity defense’s history plays into our everyday legal actions and in order to understand the problem, you need to understand the defense. The insanity plea came about in the twelfth…

Insanity Defense When a crime is committed the person responsible must enter a plea of guilty or not guilty, but what does it mean to enter a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity? Entering into a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is claiming that you cannot be held responsible for the crime committed due to the fact that you were mentally unstable when it occurred. In other words, saying that you literally went insane (FindLaw). In cases such as these it is very possible to still be…

Though the insanity defense rarely applies in criminal trials, it remains a controversial issue. The criminal law provides a defense for people who, in result of their mental condition, should not be responsible for what would be a criminal act. The defense of “ insanity” dates back to 1843. The insanity defense originated from the case of Daniel M’Naghten, who was one of the first people on record to successfully use the defense. The defendant was charged with murder and acquitted by reason…

An analysis of the history and development of the insanity defense may initiate a greater understanding of its advantages, drawbacks, and social, economic, and political repercussions. The earliest evidence of the insanity defense appears as early as the third century, in Roman, Greek, and Hebrew doctrines (Shea, 2001). Early Roman law stated that those who commit crimes without evil intent should not be held criminally responsible for those crimes. Furthermore, the Roman law Lex Aquila…

these cases, one criminal might consider usinalg the insanity plea. This defense is used in court in order for the accused to justify his or her actions. It justifies the crime committed by implying that they did not know right from wrong at the moment of the crime. Their mental illness drove them away from reality. It is rare that this defense is used in courts, but there are people who question if it should even exist. Should the insanity defense be abolished? This is an important issue…

Insanity Defense Insanity is a bigger problem than we may all think. Haven’t you seen on TV all the killings happening in not just the US, but the entire world? Just imagine if everyone were insane. We’d go extinct in the blink of an eye. We need to let yearly checkups examine if someone is sane or not. This would stop many of the problems in this world. With so many genocides and killings, it’s surprising that we haven’t thought about it as much as anything else. We should put more time and…

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 plea not guilty due to a mental state that does not allow the accuser to know what (s)he has done. American society's view of this law is causing it to be on the verge of being abolished. American society affects the creation of the insanity defense, the view of why the plea should be abolished, and the view…

Malingering (Faking) the Insanity Defense The story at the beginning of this paper illustrates this issue well, even though, it is quite uncommon. Studies have shown that about 82% of insanity defendants have been diagnosed with major medical illnesses. So, what about the 18% that were not diagnosed with a mental illness? Could it be that they were faking it the whole time? This is where their insanity defense falls apart because somehow, somewhere, they will be caught in a lie. That is what…