Insanity plea short paper

.docx

School

Southern New Hampshire University *

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570

Subject

Medicine

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

docx

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Uploaded by HighnessStorkPerson819

The insanity defense is an interesting topic to discuss based upon the fact that it is a legal concept and not necessarily a medical one, according to an article titled, Insanity Defense: Past, Present, and Future. In that same article, the author highlights how many states have begun to ban the insanity defense from courtrooms, and states that this is a violation of human right and violation of fundamental rights as a citizen because a person who does not have the mental capacity to fully understand and comprehend, the nature of the criminal act in question that they are doing is either wrong or contrary to law (2015). Specifically in the state of Kansas where the insanity defense is banned, what is used in lieu is "guilty but insane". In other literature, it's argued that the mere existence of the insanity defense suggests a deeper issue within the criminal justice system than what type of defenses should or should not be used, but deviates from the real issue. Mental illness related issues are a medical issue, not a legal issue and more attention needs to be spent on treating mental illness where it is and not in the court room (Asokan, 2016). My opinion on the insanity defense and whether restrictions are or aren't a good idea are in like with what Asokan asserted when he stated in the article, The Insanity Defense: Related Issues, "law is concerned with blameworthiness and medicine is concerned with treatment. They are not identical with each other because their “concerns” are different. With progress in neuroscience, mapping the brain and measuring its activity, the law may need to abandon or alter some of its current assumptions about the nature of voluntary conduct, which underlies various defenses" (2016). Additionally, I do not believe the insanity plea has a place in the courtroom, but I don't believe individuals who suffer from mental illness deserve to be there either, even when committing a crime. However, I can see the removal of the insanity defense without being replaced by something alternative and forward thinking in the realm of mental health care replacing it in cases such as Lorena Bobbitt's Case. Lorena was acquitted after being charged with mutilating her husband after she cut off his penis. She suffered years of abuse at his hands and claimed insanity due to the abusive nature of their marriage

(Christy, 2021). In this specific case, it would be difficult to imagine an existing alternative to replace her plea given the difficult nature of the circumstances. References: Asokan T. V. (2016). The insanity defense: Related issues. Indian journal of psychiatry , 58 (Suppl 2), S191– S198. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.196832 Christy , B. (2021b, January). Narratological limitations of telling trauma: A case study of Lorena Bobbitt. https://commons.und.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5068&context=theses Math, S. B., Kumar, C. N., & Moirangthem, S. (2015). Insanity Defense: Past, Present, and Future. Indian journal of psychological medicine , 37 (4), 381–387. https://doi.org/10.4103/0253-7176.168559 less

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