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Profound Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Defense

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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, …show more content…
They wouldn’t be punished, but instead sent to get psychiatric help. “An accused can avoid getting a jail sentence if proven to be insane. Although the chances of getting acquitted or avoiding jail sentence and getting relief from the harshest of sentences have become slimmer over the years, there is still a possibility that a person may get some reprieve. It is likely that an accused would be sent to a psychiatric facility and one may even be set free after the stay at such a facility. But there is no guarantee that an accused would be acquitted entirely. There is a possibility that an accused can avoid getting any kind of sentencing or jail stay using the insanity defense,” (7 Major Pros and Cons of an Insanity Defense | NLCATP.org. (2015, July 3). Retrieved May 17, 2016, from http://nlcatp.org/7-major-pros-and-cons-of-an-insanity-defense/). Should the insanity defense still be allowed and the accused is proved insane, then they won’t be sent to jail for their crime because of their uncontrollable actions. They would be sent to a psychiatric facility for life or until they are deemed safe enough for the

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