In order to reassure ourselves of the protection we deserve; we choose to kill murderers, and keep them off the streets for good. .
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? As defined in The Online Medical Dictionary, "Sane means not deranged, acting rationally, mentally sound, possessing a rational mind, having or showing sound judgment." Does a woman who would drown her own children demonstrate sound judgment? Does a man who would randomly kill innocent victims display a rational mind? Any person that takes the life of another human being is deranged. A human being that does not know the value of life does not possess a rational mind. Vicious criminals are not normal individuals; they are unbalanced and far from being sane. Insane is defined in The Online Medical Dictionary as, "Being very foolish absurd an insane plan or attempt causing insanity or madness." How can anyone think that brutal criminals do not cause madness and insanity in court systems, communities, victim's families, and even families of their own? These criminals should be sent to insane asylums where they belong, not to death row. Sentencing an individual that is not mentally healthy to death is no better than the crime of a murderer itself. .
Aside from executing the mentally insane, the United States sentences the death penalty to the mentally retarded. According to The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), "Currently, there are more than 300 people on death row known to have mental retardation." Generally, people suffering from mental retardation are eager to please others. This means that they will often .
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answer yes to questions even when they don"t fully understand what they are being asked (NCADP). Quite often, their incompetence leads to false confessions. Virginia executed Morris Odell Mason, who had been diagnosed as mentally retarded, in 1985.
