Aren't all murderers insane?

Question

Everyone loves the good old insanity excuse that gives you a get out of jail free card. But in reality, aren't all murderers insane? You have to be twisted in the first place to kill someone, so this defense just seems like bs.

Answer 1

Insanity is a legal term, not a psychological one, when used in the criminal justice system. It does NOT mean the same thing as when it is used in the colloquial sense in every day speech (i.e., "crazy"). There are 2 basic definitions of insanity used across the states, the M'Naughten rule and the ALI rule. Then there are slight variations in some states as well. The definitions either require that the defendent did not know what they were doing was wrong ("could not appreciate the criminality of his conduct") or that even knowing it was wrong, could not have done otherwise (also known as the volitional component.
As for the insanity defense being a "get out of jail free card" -- the insanity defense is tried in approximately 1 - 2 % of felony cases that go to trial. Of those, only about 1/2 - 1% are "successful." A determination of legal insanity results in the defendent being confined to a secure mental facility indefinitely -- until such time as s/he can "prove" his/her sanity. As a matter of fact, many people found "insane" spend more time locked up in the facility than they would have spent in prison had they been found guilty of their crimes.

Answer 2

Well, there are murders which are committed due to Crimes of Passion. An example includes you walking into your apartment after a long day at work and you discover your wife and the neighbor in an intimate situation, which leads you to murder one or both of them.
-What led you to commit the murder was not that you were insane, but a physical outbreak of intense jealousy responding to presumed or witnessed sexual deception. An important aspect of determining a crime of passion is the immediacy of the response.
---In short, there are different factors as to why someone may commit a murder. I would agree that a serial killer who murders numerous people is insane.

Answer 3

some thing is desperately out of que as maximum human beings that homicide accomplish that contained in the nice and cozy temperature of pastime. hence they do no longer in good condition the "madness" protection, besides the actual shown reality that a good many attempt. the sensation is so fleeting that a good prosecutor can honestly tear aside the madness protection. also, murdering contained in the nice and cozy temperature of pastime is precisely why the shortcoming of life penalty isn't a deterrent to homicide. those murders aren't any more pre-pondered, which skill there became no theory given to the act no longer to teach the conceivable consequences. and that i accept as true with you, some thing is misguided, no sane man or woman would kill some different person. regrettably or no longer, our justice equipment sees human beings very nearly as good and undesirable, no longer as ill or healthy. A healthy man or woman will be very not likely to commit homicide, besides the actual shown reality that it has got here about. And in the adventure that they are ill then our justice equipment would could confess it really is failings or denounce the principles, that being quick justice and start up to take care of those with therapy truly of judicial treatments. would placed an awful lot of human beings out of work and not in any respect going to happen any time quickly. Peace.

Answer 4

If a mother kills a man beacuse he raped or molested her daughter is she insane? If a woman shots a man beacuse he wouldnt stop beating her is she insane? I think a lot of murders are messed up but not nearly every single murderer is insane. Many were justified by reason if not the law

Answer 5

Insanity, like the kind they use to plea bargain or plead to the judge and jury with, is a specific kind of insane. They argue that the murderer was unaware of or not in control of his own actions.

Pre-meditated murder is the result of a diseased mind, not necessarily an insane one!

Answer 6

Recent brain research, aided by the development of the fMRI (functional MRI) is leading scientists to believe that murderers and other violent criminals have retarded functioning in the prefrontal lobe area of their brains. That's the area of the brain right behind the forehead, and it controls the upper executive functions including our inhibitory functions. So a person with a "normal" functioning brain might get angry with someone and have the thought, "I ought to kill them" but the prefrontal part of the brain goes into action and says, "NO, I can't do that, it's against the law, it's against my moral beliefs, etc." The person with the "criminal" brain doesn't have the capability to have those inhibitory thoughts, so they just act on the initial impulse thought. So yes, science is backing up your idea that everyone who commits murder is "insane" in that they really can't control themselves. The scariest part of all this is that this information is already finding it's way into our court system. "It's not my client's fault your Honor, he has a "criminal brain" defect. We can't blame him for committing these murders anymore than we can blame someone who's legs don't function for not walking". Pretty scary huh?

Answer 7

unfortunately, all murders are not insane. lots of them willl carefully think out what they will do, plan, and then carry it out. it's just they do not really have the same morals as most people, and are usually desperate. i think a lot of the time, the insanity excuse is false, people are not really insane

Answer 8

I don't by any means think all murderers are insane, only a select few actually have brains that don't function properly (which would justify such a title). I recomend reading Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Answer 9

No. some are just greedy or selfish or having no self-control to extreme levels. Not all those things are insanity.

Answer 10

No. Murder is a conflict resolution technique that never seems to work for the short-sighted, but, unfortunately, it has worked very well for those among us of longer sight.