I mean anyone who would commit a heinous crime is obviously a few cans short of a six-pack so why is there even an insanity defense and/or why doesnt everyone who commits a crime defending under that defense?
2006-11-27 10:30:29 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Because it works so rarely. "A few cans short of a six pack " doesn't do it as some of the recent murder cases prove. That woman who killed her kids, called the cops and told them she was saving them from the devil, had been committed several times and was under psych care, and she couldn't get off on an insanity defense, and she was clearly out of touch with reality.
The real question was, to me anyway, why did her husband get no time at all when it was he who insisted she have more children when it always sent her to a mental institution?
2006-11-27 10:36:53 · answer #1 · answered by justa 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
it doesn't work that often actually. I quote:
"Michael Perlin, a professor at New York Law School who wrote a book on the subject, said insanity defenses are used in less than one percent of all trials. In the cases where the defendant's insanity claim is challenged by the prosecution, only one in 12 of those defendants prevail. However, 80 percent of insanity pleas aren't contested by the prosecution, Perlin said."
I believe the idea behind it is that if you are insane, and don't know the differance between right and wrong, you had no criminal intent, so punishing you would not be in the interest of justice. Sure, there are plenty of cases that seem pretty outrageous, but on the whole it doesn't seem like it is abused that much (although the media would have you believe differantly).
2006-11-27 10:36:42 · answer #2 · answered by Chance20_m 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, insanity defense can be the difference between life in an institution and the death penalty. To use it you have to have a lot of money, a good lawyer, and a psychiatrist willing to testify that you are insane. There are some people who are insane when they commit hideous crimes, and therefore they deserve to be defended against their own actions. Different states have different definitions of insane. Kansas and Texas have such a high bar that they put you away for life.
2006-11-27 10:35:54 · answer #3 · answered by stick man 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The real problem is that it does not work. When a desperate lawyer tries it their client gets convicted anyway.
Legal insanity has nothing to do with perceivable craziness. It has to do with whether you could understand that what you were doing is a crime when you were doing it.
2006-11-27 10:35:01 · answer #4 · answered by Rich Z 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Insanity defenses have to be verified after extensive psychiatric exams, which could lasts months.
2006-11-27 10:35:05 · answer #5 · answered by WC 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Its VERY hard to prove. Few cases get a successful insanity plea. I think they have to prove that the person is totally out-of-control of their own mind and body.
2006-11-27 10:32:45 · answer #6 · answered by Sara 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I walk round in yellow and orange gown and an orange cape yelling "right here I come, to maintain the day~~~!" i imagine my probabilities of insanity defence is extremely reliable. Cheese to you.
2016-11-29 20:53:04 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a doctor examines you to see if you are mentally stable if not more doctors see you . this could take years.when done they get together to see if there conclusion is insane or competent. the court then rules on this.
2006-11-27 11:03:16 · answer #8 · answered by Randy H 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋