The insanity defense is one that is described as a legal defense based on claims of mental illness or mental incapacity. This defense has received much attention from the media, including movies and television shows that highlight this defense as a common practice. In reality, the insanity defense is rarely used.
An important thing to note here is that, in the legal realm, insanity does not have a medical definition; only a legal definition. The legal definitions of insanity have very little to do with the psychological or psychiatric aspects of mental illness. Legal insanity is a concept that was developed in assigning guilt or innocence to particular defendants, and is not meant to understand the origins of mental pathology or its treatments.
Whenever an insanity defense is mentioned, you will almost always hear the M"Naughten Rule or M"Naughten Test mentioned as well. This is a rule (or test) for determining insanity. According to Frank Schmalleger's "Criminal Law Today," this rule holds that a person is "not guilty of a crime if, at the time of the crime, the person either didn't know what he or she was doing or didn't know that what he or she was doing was wrong." .
According to the M"Naughten rule, the inability to distinguish right from wrong must be the result of some mental defect or disability. Although this rule is still followed in many states today, in most states, the burden of proving insanity falls upon the defendant. Just as defendants are considered innocent until proven otherwise, they are also considered to be sane at the trial unless otherwise proven.
Another rule for gauging insanity is called the Durham rule. This rule states that a person is not criminally responsible for his/her behavior if that person's actions were the caused by some mental disease or defect. Using the Durham rule, courts hear from an array of psychiatric specialists as to the mental state of the defendant.
The Insanity Defense Not guilty by reason of insanity. ... A simple neurosis would not support a defense of insanity. ... What I have not discussed is why a person would use the insanity defense. ... The prosecution would not have to prove anything about the accused's mental state. ... The insanity defense, in this respect, is an affirmative defense. ...
In the American judicial system, one very controversial defense strategy is the insanity defense. ... The insanity defense asserts that a criminal defendant should not be found guilty due to the his/her level of mental illness or insanity. ... "Few psycholegal issues are more controversial then the insanity defense. ... Colorado and Arizona, bar defendants from asserting temporary insanity as a defense. ... Some countries would not even consider the thought of insanity not being a defense. ...
What is your view on the insanity defense? ... What about battered woman who kill their husbands? ... They can testify and offer statements on the nature and severity of the illness, but nothing else since they are trained in medicine, not the law (The Insanity Defense). ... Further, only 26 percent of those pleas were argued successfully, and in 90 percent of the successful cases, the person was diagnosed with a mental illness (The Insanity Defense). ... A woman can be sentenced to jail for 15 years for killing her abusive husband (whether or not in self-defense). ...
The Insanity Defense Before the eighteenth century, insanity was considered a sickness rather than a mental disorder. ... The administration of the insanity defense is almost senseless (Mansnerus 1). ... This writer speaks about proposing a new defense to prevent people who should be held accountable from escaping punishment. ... Ask the victims if they feel better knowing that their killers did not know what they were doing at the time. ... The insanity defense ensures that criminals can avoid the punishment that fits their crimes....
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. ... Such cases can be seen when one is talking about crimes of passion that is often mistaken for temporary insanity. ... Question that I have such as what outside factors cause insanity, maybe heredity or drugs? ... What about justice? What about retribution?...
The Insanity Defense What is insanity? ... One might ask what is the purpose of the insanity defense? ... There are scarce traces of early insanity cases and it is difficult to make generalizations about the defense, yet there have been some noted cases where the defendant was sentenced to life in prison (Maeder ). ... Today in twentieth century, we still have great qualms about the insanity defense. ... The insanity defense is not widely used and is raised in only about 1 percent of all criminal cases (Schmalleger, 2003, p. 267). ...
The mother of three was arrested just moments later as she pushed a stroller filled with babies' items, yet no babies, away from Pier 7 ("Insanity Defense Emerges" 1). ... Harris was charged on three counts of second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity ("Insanity Defense Emerges" 1). ... In cases dealing with the insanity defense, a very important aspect to consider is the defendant's competency to stand trial. ... Caffese used Harris' extensive hospitalization history, as well as much more crucial evidence to support her plea for the i...
Today in our criminal justice system, when someone commits a crime they may use insanity as a defense. ... It is difficult to determine if someone is telling the truth about their mental state. ... When using the insanity plea an attorney must project what his client was or was not thinking at the time of the crime. ... We can never be truly certain that what you see in court is the real thing. ... We need to be careful how we hand out sentences, but to be fair, we have to allow an insanity defense to be submitted. ...
Self-defense. ... In Texas if a person has formed a belief about a fact, but is mistaken that may negate his intent. 8. ... Insanity. In Texas a person can escape criminal responsibility if he can show that, at the time of the crime, due a mental disease or defect, he did not know that what he was doing was wrong. ... A person in Texas can now raise the insanity defense at trial and if they are found insane at the time they committed the offense, they are found NOT GUILTY by reason of insanity and are committed to a mental institution until they are "cured". ...