Preview

Dead or Alive: the Criminally Insane

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
823 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dead or Alive: the Criminally Insane
Severely mentally ill individuals may commit horrific crimes. Many believe that these crimes deserve the death penalty; however, others believe that in certain circumstances the mentally ill should be exempt from capital punishment and believe that the punishment is too extreme for those who are not fully aware of committing their crimes. Many mentally ill individuals have been executed and some are currently on death row. All the while, this controversial issue is still being debated on. Mental illness is defined as “Any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual’s normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic, or other factors, such as infection or head trauma” (thefreedictionary.com). A defendant charged with a crime may present the court with an insanity plea. Upon application of the insanity plea, the defendant must be psychologically evaluated. A common test that is used for this evaluation is called the M’Naghten rules. These rules state that “it must be clearly proved that at the time of committing the act the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or as not to know that what he was doing was wrong” (bailii.org). In using this defence the accused may receive a verdict of “guilty but mentally ill,” which means the accused party may still receive the death penalty. It is extremely rare that an individual using the insanity plea defence gets acquitted.
When an accused individual receives the verdict of “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI), that person may as well be found guilty. By law the purpose of the GBMI statute is “to reduce the number of defendants being completely relieved of criminal responsibility and to insure the mentally ill receive treatment for their benefit as well as societies benefit while incarcerated” (caselaw.findlaw.com). I do not believe that


Cited: 1. The free dictionary. Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/mental+illness 2. Bailii. United kingdom house of lords decisions. Daniel m’naghten’s case (1843). Retrieved from http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1843/J16.html 3. Findlaw. Supreme court of south carolina. The state of south carolina, respondent v brent hornsby, appellant (1997). Retrieved from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/sc-supreme-court/1347612.html
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Irresistible-Impulse Control Case
    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Irresistible-Impulse Control Case

    When dealing with ethical issues related to mental illness, a concern is the notion that criminal justice practitioners are not generally trained extensively on how to handle mentally ill individuals. Certain offenders are particularly demanding because much of what they experience is misunderstood. For all members of the criminal justice community there is a call to treat people with fairness and equity. People who encounter those that have severe mental illnesses, must recognize the signs and symptoms of these illnesses and respond effectively and appropriately to those who are experiencing psychiatric crises. Most importantly, to establish an insanity defense, it must be clearly proven that at the time of the act, the accused was under such a defect of reason from disease of the mind that he did not know the nature and quality of the act he was committing; or if he did, he did not know what he was doing was wrong (Cheeseman, San Miguel, Frantzen, & Nored, 2011).…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Profound Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Defense
    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Profound Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Defense

    The insanity defense should be allowed for those with a mental illness when they commit a crime since they are not in control of their actions. “If a person really does have mental incapacity, and it will be considered that his condition has caused him to commit a capital crime, which means the defense could save his life. Put in mind that a capital crime carries a punishment of eventual death. However, being found not guilty because of insanity means that a capital punishment is out of the question. It could mean that the accused would just be housed at a professional mental health treatment center. Though it might not be jail, still it gets him off the streets,” (12 Profound Pros and Cons of the Insanity Defense [Web log post]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16,…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    [“Guilty but Mentally Ill vs Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages

    [“Guilty but Mentally Ill vs Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

    The repercussions for a defendant who is found “not guilty by reason of insanity” is that he will not go to jail and thus be free to either hurt himself or hurt others again. On the other hand, does that are found “guilty but mentally ill” will be sent to a mental institution and get treatment for their mental illness and once they have completed their treatment they will be sent to jail to finish their term.…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Is It Ethical to Execute the Mentally Ill
    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Is It Ethical to Execute the Mentally Ill

    So what is mental illness? Mental illness can be described in a variety of ways. The American Heritage Dictionary (4th edit., 2000) describes it as: "Any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic, or other factors, such as infection or head trauma. Also called emotional illness, mental disease, mental disorder." Insanity or mental incompetency is a severe form of mental illness and is addressed separately by the legal system. Inmates who are insane, that is, so out of touch with reality that they do not know right from wrong and cannot understand their punishment or the purpose of it, are exempt from execution. The Supreme Court held in Ford v. Wainwright (477 U.S. 399 (1986)) that executing the insane is unconstitutional. However, if an inmate's mental competency has been restored, he or she can then be executed. Inmates who are intellectually disabled (mentally retarded) also cannot be executed. Inmates who are mentally ill, but not insane, have no such exemption.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mind over Matter
    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mind over Matter

    Determining if an individual who has committed a heinous crime where the plea of insanity or sane was to be established, is a fine line. Labeling individuals who suffer from mental illness or disorders must be examined carefully and thoroughly. The truth in legality is that just because a person does not know the difference between right and wrong does not mean that they are clinically insane. Insanity can be seen as people who suffer from psychotic episodes, hallucinations, mental deficiencies, and even mental retardation. “In M'Naghten's modern form, a defendant who pleads insanity must prove that at the time of the offense he or she was suffering from a mental disease or disability, such as retardation, so severely as not to know either "the nature and quality of the act" or whether it was right or wrong” (Gibeaut, J. (2006). If an individual cannot comprehend the crime they committed and the consequences of their action, and who did not understand right from wrong, this would be the ideology of M’Naghten’s rule. Does Eric Michael Clark have the legal right to submit an insanity plea for his defense? Was the question of his diagnosis put to light in the courtroom? Was the question ever addressed if Eric was on any psychotropic drug when he committed this crime? Was he off his medication for his diagnosed mental disorder? So many elements were not brought up in this case for Eric to have the eligible legal right to plea insanity for his defense. In contrast, for a young man who was cruising the streets with radio at full volume and was then stop by a police officer doing his job, what was the reason Eric fired more than five shots? Was he experiencing a psychotic episode or did he feel threatened in any way? These facts have to be considered before an insanity…

    • 663 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Insanity Defense
    • 528 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Insanity Defense

    Another topic of discussion is should the victim pleading insanity just be sentenced to a psychiatric facility or should the punishment be altered slightly. Simply because one pleads “not guilty by reason of insanity” (NGRI) does not justify the action committed. An insane individual still must endure much more than just a temporary rehabilitation. Though the insane suspect could really have a mental malfunction that does not delete the life(s) he/she has taken within the course of not compensating for future consequences. To top that concrete facts should be able to support when and why the defendant started to realize that they were at a breaking point. Such things as different appetite desires, change in sleeping pattern, unusual psychotic inhibitions so on and so forth. A respectable amount of time should be dedicated in order to truly understand the thinking pattern of an insane human. In most cases states that do allow the…

    • 528 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Should Mental Illnesses Be Held Criminal Or Insane
    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page

    Should Mental Illnesses Be Held Criminal Or Insane

    People who commit criminal acts under the influence of mental illnesses should not be held criminally responsible for their acts or omissions in the same way that sane responsible people are. No person should be convicted of a crime if he or she was legally insane at the time of the…

    • 78 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Example Research Paper (M'Naughten Rule)
    • 2259 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Example Research Paper (M'Naughten Rule)

    “The defendant [Daniel M’Naghten] attempted to kill the Prime Minister and instead killed his secretary. The trial judge instructed the jury to acquit if the defendant was ‘not sensible’ at that time. The jury found the defendant not guilty, and on questions propounded by the House of Lords, 15 English judges stated the accused was not guilty if he were ‘labouring under such a defect of reason from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act that he was doing; or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.’” (Coleman and Davidson) This murder and court case took place in 1843 and was the source of much controversy. This also led to the controversial M’Naghten rule used in today’s courtrooms in relation to the use of an insanity plea. For those who are not aware, an insanity plea is when a defendant in a court case states that he/she has a mental disorder that prevented him/her from being aware of his or her actions or the wrongness of his/her actions. This in turn leads to an insanity defense. “The insanity defense is a legal provision that protects those who are sufficiently incapacitated because of mental illness or defect from being held criminally liable for their acts.” (Ahia) According to the M’Naghten rule or test, “it must be clearly and convincingly shown that because of his or her mental disease or defect, the defendant was incapable of forming the guilty intent or mind-set required by the crime.” (Ahia) This rule is an issue because of cases such as that of Perry Smith who was tried for the murder of a family. Because of the M’Naghten rule, the psychiatrist who testified for Perry could not disclose the fact that there was very strong evidence that he had a severe mental illness. Perry ends up being sentenced to death and hanged. (Capote 296, 307, 337)…

    • 2259 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    People with Mental Illnesses Should Not Die
    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages

    People with Mental Illnesses Should Not Die

    People that are mentally ill or people that do not know the difference between right and wrong are more likely to commit violent crimes. Over sixty people with mental illness or retardation have been put to death since 1983 in the United States alone (Death). It is estimated that between five and 10% of people on death row are severely mentally ill. It has been shown that almost all people on death row have brain damage from an illness or trauma, while a large amount of the others have been through severe physical and or sexual abuse (Death). People with mental illness should not face the death penalty because killing them does not make anything any better, they don't always know the difference between right and wrong, and it is not their fault that they are mentally ill.…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Advantages Of The Insanity Plea
    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Advantages Of The Insanity Plea

    To be considered insane and mentally unstable, I believe a criminal defendant must be unconsciously aware of their actions and there should be no prior intentional plan planned out to commit a crime or felony. However in some cases, criminal defendant has used the insanity plea as a defense, in which they have thought out and did intend on executing the crime as a result of mental illness. Even though some people are right about abolishing this legal defense because some defendant may take this as an advantage and hopefully be declared as not guilty, I still believe that the insanity plea is still an essential part of a rational criminal justice system. According to Psychology Today, the insanity plea has been used less than 1% of all the…

    • 251 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Mentally Ill Executions
    • 3139 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Mentally Ill Executions

    "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" is the philosophy many people use when it comes to the punishment of criminals. The death penalty has been debated for many years as it has come into and then fallen out of favor for the American public. Today the death penalty by lethal injection has been put on hold on a couple of states. The legality of the "cruel and unusual punishment" is being heatedly debated. The death penalty is especially volatile when it comes to the mentally ill. When a mentally ill person commits a crime worthy of the death penalty the state and those involved with the case often face a moral and ethical dilemma. If the person is not capable of understanding why they are being executed or what the death penalty means to them, there is a legal, ethical and moral question about the fairness of that execution. The states ' answer has been to medicate the mentally ill prisoner with anti-psychotic drugs so that they become capable of mentally understanding why they are going to be executed. "There is virtually no psychiatric diagnosis that always renders a defendant incompetent or unable to be held responsible for his or her acts (Reid, 1998)." The question then becomes how humane is it to bring them out of their mental illness, get them well enough and then kill them when they are able to finally understand what is happening to them? It is the courts responsibility that the defendant is capable of helping his own defense and that he fully understands his charges and his sentence.…

    • 3139 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Execution of the Mentally Impaired: Does It Violate the 8th Amendment?
    • 1828 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Execution of the Mentally Impaired: Does It Violate the 8th Amendment?

    Mental illness can be described in a variety of ways. The American Heritage Dictionary (4th edit., 2000) describes it as: "Any of various conditions characterized by impairment of an individual 's normal cognitive, emotional, or behavioral functioning, and caused by social, psychological, biochemical, genetic, or other factors, such as infection or head trauma. Insanity or mental incompetency is a severe form of mental illness and is addressed separately by the legal system. Inmates who are insane, that is, so out of touch with reality that they do not know right from wrong and cannot understand their punishment or the purpose of it, are exempt from execution. The Supreme Court held in Ford v. Wainwright (477 U.S. 399 (1986)) that executing the insane is unconstitutional. However, if an inmate 's mental competency has been restored, he or she can then be executed. Inmates who are intellectually disabled (mentally retarded) also cannot be executed. Inmates, who are mentally ill, but not insane, have no such exemption.…

    • 1828 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Insanity Defense
    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Essay On Insanity Defense

    It has called for a new definition of the word “insanity” and has caused many new standards to be put in place. A new standard, for example, is the competency test. All jurisdictions require that criminals must be competent to stand trial, meaning that the accused knows the nature of their actions and understand that what they did was wrong, if they cannot do that they will be found to be mentally incompetent to stand the trial (FindLaw). This, however, does not mean that the person is immediately found not guilty or innocent. The person will receive treatment until they are competent enough to stand trial. The insanity defense also called for a reform act in 1984, stating that the defendant must be unable to understand the “nature and quality of the wrongfulness of his acts” (FindLaw). It also states that a mental disease does not constitute as an argument. Lastly, the insanity defense has called for a test that decides if the criminal is mentally ill, however, guilty. The guilty but mentally ill verdict allows criminals who are mentally ill to be found liable for their actions and receive treatment while in jail or be sent to a mental hospital. Once they are seen to be well enough, they will be sent to prison to serve their…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Involuntary Manslaughter Case
    • 3740 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Involuntary Manslaughter Case

    Rule: Two standards exist to establish insanity. The first is the Model Penal Code, which is used in almost all federal courts and some state courts. If a defendant is going to claim insanity as a defense, he must prove that he has either a mental disease or defect that renders him unable to both decide what is right verses what is wrong and understand the requirements of the law. Another rule is the M’Naghten test, which voids responsibility if, at the time of the offense, the person did not know the nature or quality of the act or that the act was wrong. There is also the irresistible-impulse test, where a person knows that their actions are wrong, but cannot resist doing it. In spite of all of the tests, proving insanity is extremely difficult, and…

    • 3740 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Death Penalty
    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Death Penalty

    There are many cases in which a mentally ill person was sentenced to death. In the nonfiction piece, In Cold Blood, this mistake is made. Capote shows us this when he explains that the Kansas' M'Naghten Rule only lets a psychologist testify whether the criminal could tell right from wrong at the scene of the time. He then explains that if the psychologist had been allowed to explain, he would have said “‘Perry Smith [the main character] shows definite signs of severe mental illness’ ‘his present personality structure is very nearly that of a paranoid schizophrenic person (p.297-298, Capote).’” Therefore, the court did not allow the psychologist to give an explanation and just used their selective hearing skills to make a judgment.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More