This paper will examine the mind of the criminally insane. When examining the criminally insane, many factors must be considered. First, mental health diseases and their symptoms will be examined. The development of these diseases could be genetic, or triggered environmentally, emotionally, or physically. This paper will also examine different cases in which the insanity plea was implied. This paper will give the reader insight on who should be found insane. Finally, the paper will conclude if we should consider the insanity plea.
Keywords: criminally insane, mental health diseases, triggers, case study.
Should the Insanity Plea Be Considered?.
Mental illness has played a major part in the criminal system. It is a mysterious field of forensics, because no one knows what the criminal is thinking. That's why forensics calls upon psychology. Forensic Psychology is a field that deals with both the law and psychology. Typical functions performed within forensic psychology include the following: Competency evaluations, sentencing recommendations, evaluations of the risk of the reoffending, testimony as an expert witness, child custody evaluations, etc. Forensic psychologists must evaluate the offender from his childhood as well, in order to understand his/her background. Even yet, some offenders use the insanity plea to escape the harsh punishments that are soon to come. Should the mentally ill be treated, or cast away with every other criminal? Should the insanity plea even be considered? In the most extreme cases, yes, but not for someone who has an insane moment. .
Criminal Insanity in Court.
In criminal trials, the insanity defense is where the defendant claims he/she is not responsible for their actions due to mental health problems. The insanity defense is based on evaluations by forensic psychologists with the appropriate test according to the jurisdiction. Their testimony guides the jury, but they are not allowed to testify to the accused's criminal responsibility.
During trials, some convicted criminals are determined to be insane when in reality all fierce offenders are insane. How does one judge sane from insane? ... Does a man who would randomly kill innocent victims display a rational mind? ... A human being that does not know the value of life does not possess a rational mind. ... These criminals should be sent to insane asylums where they belong, not to death row. ...
During trials, some convicted criminals are determined to be insane when in reality all fierce offenders are insane. How does one judge sane from insane? ... Does a man who would randomly kill innocent victims display a rational mind? ... A human being that does not know the value of life does not possess a rational mind. ... These criminals should be sent to insane asylums where they belong, not to death row. ...
The insanity defense refers to that branch of the concept of insanity that defines the extent to which men accused of crimes may be relieved of criminal responsibility. ... Temporary insanity is a defense used in criminal prosecution in which the state of mind during the crime negates his or hers criminal responsibility. ... Every crime involves a physical act, or actus Reus, and a mental act, or mens rea, the non-physical cause of behavior (guilty mind). The mens rea is the mental element required for a crime, and if absent excuses the defendant from criminal responsibility and punishment. .....
Criminal anthropologists taught that some criminals are unchangeable and doomed to lives of crime. ... The Positive Schools primary focus was on the prevention of crime and the reformation of offenders, the demand for facts and scientific proof and that there are mind and body differences between people and that the punishment should fit the individual criminal, not the individual crime. ... He called the "born Criminal" a being that was predestined for criminal behavior due to his physical configuration. ... Another point the school made was that there were four classes of criminals: born (at...
Who is to say if the defendant was insane at the time of the crime? ... The M"Naghten rule reads: A defendant may be excused from criminal responsibility if at the time of the commission of the act the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from a disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and the quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know that he was doing what was wrong. ... In 1971 there was a reassessment of 586 inmates of Pennsylvania's Fairview State Hospital for the Criminally Insane who were placed there under the guilty, b...
The insanity defense is when a defendant may be excused from criminal responsibility if at the time of the commission of the act the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from a disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and the quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know that he was doing what was wrong. ... Everyone has free will, although it may be compromised by the insane and passion of a crime. ... However, I did not mention how severe a punishment should be for the insane. I do take into consideration of extenuating circumstances t...
Discuss whether the rules governing insanity as a defence in criminal law are in a satisfactory condition. ... The definition states that the defendant must be suffering from a "disease of the mind" and the law states that this can be a mental or physical disease or injury which affects the mind. ... Other ailments that have succeeded include diabetes (Hennessy 1989) and sleepwalking (Burgess 1991) In cases like this it could be seen as strange that a defendant has to plead that they are legally insane instead of being able to use non-insane automatism. ... Also, people with common...
Today the term "insane" is used primarily in criminal law. Criminal law is what sets the limits of behavior in a society. ... The insanity plea was a criminal's greatest hope. ... Some say that the insanity defense merely allows criminal to escape imprisonment. ... Yates drowned her five children, but who in their right mind would drown their five children? ...
These individuals needed to have this defense as their mental capacity differs from those with a sane mind. ... Although we no longer debate what to do with our insane community, we do debate if one is insane. Indeed, we have even created excuses for the sane to be "Temporarily Insane", and all of this is highly arguable. ... The insanity defense is not widely used and is raised in only about 1 percent of all criminal cases (Schmalleger, 2003, p. 267). ... While some states no longer allow defendants to raise the insanity defense as an excuse to a criminal charge, defendants in all jurisdi...