I ask this question because I asked one earlier about Andrea Yates and why people pity her. Well almost every answer I got said "Because she was mentally ill". Well I would like to know why you people think it is alright for a mentally ill person to get away with murder just because they are mentally ill. I am sorry, but I have been in the Mental Institution and I can tell ya I would never even think of drowning my children in a bath tub. No where in the laws of man does it say that if you are mentally ill you have the right to kill someone. If you think that Andrea Yates should be put in a hospital just to get out in 6 months then you are just as guilty as she is for the murder of those 5 kids.
2007-07-19 06:07:38 · 8 answers · asked by Christina J 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
We unfortunately grant "the mentally ill" a wide latitude.
We are too often remiss, therefore, in upholding basic boundaries of decency when it comes to the actions of those classified as "mentally ill."
This should be especially examined when the welfare of children is at stake. No one, normal or insane, should be allowed to violate children with impunity. I guarentee that even the so-called "mentally ill" would think twice if the penalty was as severe as it should be for such heinous acts.
2007-07-22 19:44:16 · answer #1 · answered by M O R P H E U S 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Psychiatrists are in nearly full agreement that there are a few people with serious psychosis symptoms that truly have NO IDEA what they are doing. This is very rare. Most people who say they did somehting because they are mentally ill are saying that because they are caught red handed and there is no other defense. Usually if mental illness is a contributing factor, it is because the person is using drugs like alcohol or illicit drugs, and that PLUS the mental illness is a real problem. Well, using drugs is no defense. Also, maybe a person's personality is prone to violence anyhow. I think that psychiatrists who talked to andrea yates are in about full agreement that she is as sick as you can get and clearly has no idea what is going on. I think her family failed her. Most people I know who have psychosis problems have had their kids taken away because they can tend to be neglectful parents. Just because your mental illness does not cause psychosis doesn't mean that someone else can't have it. And there are all levels of problems in a mental institution. I've been in them several times due to bipolar disorder, but there were many people worse off. There also is full agreement that she will be in an institution for the rest of her life. As soon as the pills help her, she realizes what she does, then she relapses totally again and is completely out of it again. I have to wonder what you were in an institution for if you could control your behavior 100% under the severe strain of mental illness at its worst? I am a smart cookie and do all that I should, like take my pills and get counseling, and I know I can't always keep it together. I never mean to hurt anyone, I help others a lot, and I always apologize after. When I was taking new psych drugs and had a bad reaction, I carved up my arms and legs with a knife and threw a chair at my husband, TOTALLY uncharacteristic and unprescedented. I think the psychiatrists should be answering this question. They see a lot of patients.
2016-05-17 10:58:02 · answer #2 · answered by nikki 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It was the drugs or so called medications that did this, and one can not deny this they have all kinds of bad affects on different people, the shame is that one really doesn't know how these drugs will affect them until they do.
There is no proof for saying just because one is falsely labeled as mentally ill that they are dangerous or that they will kill, a killer is a criminal and this treatment does not make that better. I think the point is that one doesn't have to kill and until we realize that we are using "mentally ill" for some real vulgar and harsh criminal people, that it is going to be the same stereotype for all.
We can no longer use this "mental illness" thing as a get out of jail card and then expect that people should just respect us or believe us when we say we are all "mentally ill".
Just because you have been in a hospital or even falsely labeled that is a far cry from telling anyone what really actually happened to cause this, what was going on, what you done in particular, or what fixed it, that is the point. It is not one and the same for all people and so we need to get rid of this thinking we have going on.
There is no valid and reliable scientific evidence or proof for any of it so it is just being used as an excuse for some really bad individuals and it is stereotyping people that would never do the same things and that is wrong.
2007-07-19 06:47:06 · answer #3 · answered by Friend 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am not violent. However, I have mental illness also. You need to see beyond your own circumstances. I don't think anyone is saying it's "fair" or "right". Some mentally ill people are violent. They don't know what they are doing. This does not relieve any one. Especially the victims family. It is helped with medication, counseling, and when possible self control. Personally, I don't understand violent people. I do know enough to say . That some mentally ill have no sense of reality. I have been through this. Thank God it's over. However, many people never come back to reality. I am very blessed. Unless, they can guarantee she is not a harm to herself and others. I don't believe they should let her out. Because mentally ill tend to forget or think they are cured and stop taking their med.'s. In her case, she has already murdered, her own children. That is going to follow her any time she is in reality. I do not believe, they can guarantee it will not happen again. I am not trying to be judgmental. I totally understand. She may not have been aware of her actions. It would be stupid however to put her back into society. For many reasons. Her own actions and what other people who don't understand may do to her. These are just a few.
2007-07-19 06:27:57 · answer #4 · answered by Suzie Q 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, it isn't right for a mentally ill person to kill other people. The laws are the same for everyone, so if someone kills someone else, mentally ill or not, the penalty should be the same, but they should go to a hospital so it doesn't happen again.
2007-07-19 06:27:21 · answer #5 · answered by authorgirl6 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Fair" is not the proper word for this situation. Murder is murder. Anyone who intentionally kills someone is a murderer and should be punished for their crime. The only difference between somone who understands that they are committing murder and someone who does not understand what they are doing is the type of punishment they should receive.
"Experts" determined that Andrea Yates was "mentally ill" and did not understand why she was killing her children. Therefore they did not punish her as a "murderer".
Like it or not, her punishment has been deemed appropriate for the situation, although certainly not "fair".
2007-07-23 05:10:46 · answer #6 · answered by BC 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think she was demon possessed. How else could a mother brutally drown her 5 children? She should get the death penalty, because that is just so sick for her to ruthlessly take those precious lives, and not even bear the punishment.
2007-07-19 06:18:35 · answer #7 · answered by blueruble 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
what an unfair question..
how can a mentally ill person know that it is unfair to kill others when he can not discreminate..
2007-07-23 00:58:00 · answer #8 · answered by krishprud@yahoo.co.in_KISHORLAL 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋