Should we have a different justice System for those people?

Question

Who are of dimished mental capacity when they commit crimes?

Something like, if you got depressed and killed someone then you get 2 years

if you are kind of slow then you get 5 years

if you are just plum insane you get 3 years

if you are actually mentally challenged then you are free to go and do whatever you want.

if you are a person who is owning up to your actions than you get life.

OR

Should we have standard sentences based on the actual crime commited?

Answer 1

Standard sentences based upon the actual crime commited. If it is proven that the crime was commited as a result of failed mental capacity, they are better off locked up anyway, as they are a danger to themselves and others. Maybe doesn't sound politically correct, but you open up a serious can of worms when you make exceptions for mood swings.

Answer 2

I think that you are simplifying the issue. People who successfully use an insanity plea don't just get "3 years". They are most likely going to ride out their days incarcerated in a mental hospital.

Standard sentences and mandatory minimums are not the way to go. Granted, insanity pleas are quite often abused, probably more so than they are legitimate, but there are insane people. There are also a damn near infinite number of circumstances that would play into a temporary insanity defense. i.e. stabbing the man you caught molesting your child, being so hysterical that right and wrong can no longer factor into decision making.

Also, remember that in the end, the only legal difference between homicide and manslaughter is what the prosecutor decides to charge you with. If you killed a man who broke into your home, or ran over someone after your brakes failed, the prosecutor could still charge you with second degree murder. That's up to him. But if he does, and you get convicted, should the judge have no other choice than to send you to prison for 35 years?

Answer 3

Sentences should be the same regardless of your mental capacity. It doesn't make the victim any less dead just becuase you're depressed or a nutbag. Nor does it to the victim's family any good. It doesn't mean you won't re-offend just because you are a nutbag. I personally don't want some nutter who is criminally insane living next door to me... these people should be totally removed from society as they have proven that they cannot function in society.

Answer 4

What difference would it make? There are sane people committing murders and getting only a few years. I believe that if someone kills someone, then need to give up their life. That's just the way I feel. The judicial system is already screwed up. The punishment has never fit the crime in this country as far as I'm concerned. Thank you.

Answer 5

Our Constitution has worked for over two hundred years. We need to keep one system of justice for everyone. We have judges and juries to make those decisions. When we have the legislature or initiatives doing the job of the judiciary, we get people with agendas and justice goes out the window.

Answer 6

I'm in favor of standard sentences based on the crime actually committed, with only very rare exceptions.

Answer 7

I know that the major news outlets fill their time with the most sensational crime available. That doesn't mean that we should change the system due to one nutjob in some small town who slices and dices his wife.

Answer 8

You can't standardize cases. That would go under the assumption that every case, every criminal and every victim are exaclty the same.

Answer 9

sentences should be the same
but no more innocent by reason of insanity
it should be ...
guilty by reason of insanity