should insane criminals that commit crimes punishable by death be let off because of their insanity?
2006-07-19 03:41:00 · 6 answers · asked by terracotta_banana_pie 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Other - Society & Culture
Absolutely not let off.
My son is schizophrenic, hears voices and imagines people are chasing him. He thinks he is bi-lingual and an astronaut. He is a hard-working, dependable, dear and loving person--on his meds. Off, he is not anyone I recognize. He will tell anyone anything he needs to, to get what he wants.
He is in county jail right now for being on probation and buying a GUN. I do not want him out of custody, but I think he would be better off in a hospital, where he could be monitored, and medicated, and in theraoy. He might have a chance to get his life together.
In jail, he is just sitting, medicated, learning more about being a criminal, and waiting to get out. He is only 21.
A mentally ill person is not aware of what they are doing, through no fault of their own. It is a physical illness. Part of their illness is thinking that they don't need their meds, when they start feeling better. Often they are brilliant people, and can't access their sense. It is a pitiful thing, really. If they were hospitalized and treated, there are so many who could be rehabbed, instead of ending up on death-row or in jail.
Our whole society would be better off, if mentally ill people got treatment, in a secure hospital, instead of jail. And my beloved child would be getting help, so he couldn't hurt himself or anyone else.
2006-07-19 03:58:17 · answer #1 · answered by Lottie W 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, according to virtually every court. "Deemed insane" implies that the person was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Ergo, they go to a hospital, not the death chamber. The death penalty is applied to those who knew what they were doing, intended to do it, and usually planned it. If you are out of reality or a voice tells you, that doesn't meet the standard of capital murder, at least according to the Supreme Court.
2006-07-19 03:45:48 · answer #2 · answered by ebillar 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am not a proponent for the death penalty but...
I cannot imagine murdering a person. To do so, I would have to be severly mentally ill. Insane? Yes, I think so.
So the question I would ask you... how does a sane person commit a death penalty crime?
2006-07-19 03:48:29 · answer #3 · answered by awakening1us 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO!!!They sholud be treated the same because most can put on a good act of being insane!!
2006-07-19 03:47:22 · answer #4 · answered by SUN FLOWER 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course. If it is 'wrong' to kill another, what ever makes it right for a state to do so?
2006-07-19 03:48:06 · answer #5 · answered by American Spirit 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no they should be treated like every one else
2006-07-19 03:43:29 · answer #6 · answered by Neil G 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋