Should mentally unstable killers be treated the same as regular criminals?

Question

'At the end of the day they are just as likely to re-offend and should also be at risk of the gallows as a punishment,'

From an old document in my local library, in south west England. Discuss.

Answer 1

I agree with that statement, too many people commit crime and go down the mental health route, and half the time it’s a load of @ollocks it costs money to keep these people in secure units taxpayers money, the psychologists who treat them often make mistakes by saying they are fit to be released into society when they are not, if you’re a Looney and kill someone and “get off” murder because you are mentally unstable you stay locked up for life its that’s simple, or save everyone time and money and give them a lethal injection

Answer 2

Since the classification of "Mentally unstable" contains within it "Unstable" it is an indication that they will re-offend.

Additionally, the issue of mental illness appears to be a guessing game by psychiatrists, who, if lined up end to end, would point in every conceivable direction.

Therefore, the whole question of mental illness appears to be a smokescreen to limit responsibility for conduct.

It appears that most "Mental Illnesses" are "chemical imbalances in the brain" and not something amenable to psychiatric treatment, except to medicate them into a semi-comatose condition.

That in itself is a life sentence as a vegetable, IF they take their meds, but if they don't take the medicine, they are quite likely to re-offend and therefore pose a threat to society in general.

Answer 3

I think many of the people who are in prisons should really be receiving mental health care. What person in their right mind would do the things serial killers do.

Although saying that, some people need to be punished, paedophiles for instance love using the excuse that they are not right in the head, which they're not, but that should never excuse what they do.

That's a bit of a paradox really, and I'm contradicting myself saying that. I don't like the idea of a penal system based on a vengeance mentality, but I'd like to wreak vengeance on some people!

Answer 4

I'm in law enforcement. From what I've seen most "criminals" have issues of mental health or retardation issues. Most jails now are practically hospitals for these people and is where they receive the most help for there conditions. The real question should be, if most criminals are M.H.M.R., is that an excuse to keep them from being put to death or life imprisonment.... Think about that one.

Answer 5

The problem lies with the so called professionals. They put these people in prisons, or detain them under the Mental Health Act and then release them far to early, so of course they re-offend as mental illness unfortunately can't always be cured.

Answer 6

Do you punish someone for being ill? Or do you treat his sickness? It is fine to remove him from society for the safety of the public. But mental illness is exactly that, an illness, no different to cancer.

Answer 7

If you kill people, you're unstable. If stable people killed people, there would only be one person left. I believe "legal" sanity means only that he understands what is happening (being charged with) and is capable of assisting in his own defense. In other words, Berkowitz was sane.

Answer 8

if they don't know or understand what they're doing then no they should not be treated equally - like how children do not have criminal responsibility. it depends on the individual cases

Answer 9

I think so. It's still the same crime just different conditions behind it.