Insanity Plea Essay

The plea should be considered as a right for criminals trying to justify themselves in court. It would right to help the people who are mentally ill rather than avoiding the fact that they are mentally incompetent, and placing them in prison. There would be negative affects if mentally ill defendants do not get the proper medical treatment necessary. It is better to take action against the mental illness of a criminal so they will not put themselves and others at risk. The insanity defense would most likely lead them to a longer sentence, but will give them a chance to better their mental

While most people are concerned and want violent offenders punished and thrown in prison (which is a valid concern), it is rare that violent acts are committed by the mentally ill. For those crimes the mentally ill commits, prison may not always be the right answer; instead, proper treatment and rehabilitation would be much better. In general, the statement has always been made that the

He dropped the silver dollar and “ It made me sick. I was just disgusted” (240). Perry visualizes himself in “ some nutty movie “ (240), which made him ball up with frustration and irritation knowing that he came for a safe full of money, and not picking up a silver dollar off a floor of a child’s room. The outcome ended up killing Mr. Clutter when Perry was testing Dick “ to admit he was a phony and coward”(244) who can’t kill anyone, but once he knelt down, the pain in his knees reminded him of the sentiment he had when he retrieved the silver dollar. This indicates that perry was not psychologically unstable when he killed the Clutter family, he had his emotions take over his actions. In the M’Naghten rule it states the defendant cannot know right from wrong, which Perry knew what he was doing but kept on proceeding with his

The New York State Senate today passed legislation (S.1822), sponsored by Senator Frank Padavan (R-C, Bellerose), that would allow juries to find defendants "guilty but mentally ill" in cases where they believe the defendant may have been mentally ill at the time of the crime, but should still be held responsible for his or her actions.

The morning and afternoon before the murder, Payne spent his time drinking alcohol and injecting himself with cocaine. Approximately at 3 p.m., Payne went to Charisee’s and her two children’s (Lacie and Nicholas) apartment complex. Payne made sexual advances to Charisse which were not well received. Payne then became violent, and when Charisse screamed, a neighbor heard and called the police. As the first officer arrived to the scene, Payne was seen covered in blood. Payne then struck officer after being asked what occurred and fled. Payne was later located and arrested. Charisse received 84 injuries in total from the knife: 42 were direct knife

Though the Hatfields may have felt their revenge was valid, the law obviously felt otherwise, quickly returning indictments against 20 men, including Devil Anse and his sons. Despite the charges, the Hatfields avoided arrest, leaving the McCoys boiling with anger about the murders and infuriated that the Hatfields walked free. Their cause was taken up by Perry Cline, an attorney who was married to Martha McCoy, the widow of Randolph’s brother Asa Harmon. Years earlier Cline had lost a lawsuit against Devil Anse over the deed for thousands of acres of land, and many historians believe this left him looking for his own form of revenge. Using his political connections, Cline had the charges against the Hatfields reinstated. He announced rewards

Several factors led Capote to conclude his thoughts on the trial. For one, the lawyers appointed to Perry and Dick “did not desire to serve” the two convicts, brazenly stating that, “‘Somebody [had] to do it’” (257). The lawyers made it clear that they had wanted no participation within the trial. Furthermore, when interviewed, Capote discovered that some of the jurors had already come with preconceived mindsets on the Clutter case. Specifically, one juror named Duncan stated, “‘Ordinarily, I’m against [the death penalty]. But in this case, no’“ (273). Nevertheless, he still continued on as a juror of the case. Finally, perhaps the single most important aspect of the unjust prosecution, was the fact that Perry and Dick’s mental conditions never surfaced upon the courtroom. Before the trial, under the request of Perry and Dick’s lawyer, psychiatrist Dr. Jones evaluated the psychological conditions of the duo. The resulted in the discovery of the abnormalities the two carried; “Hickock [showed] signs of emotional abnormality” (294), while “Perry [showed] definite signs of severe mental illness” (296). If Dr. Jone’s testimony had taken place, perhaps the conclusion of the trial would have ended

events preceding, including and following the murders of the Clutter family. Through these narratives, he evokes both horror at the acts themselves, but also pathos for not only the individual members of the family, but for the killers themselves. This is true in the descriptions of the physical attributes of Perry Smith,. “his legs were short and feet as small as a child. They almost wouldn’t touch the floor. He was a

Within Truman Capote’s work of In Cold Blood are several dynamic characters. Though these characters serve different purposes in the plot, and have different motives, there are key underlying similarities between them. Bonnie and Perry are introduced to the audience in very different circumstances. Capote introduces Mrs. Clutter along with how her post-partum depression has affected her. She tries to carry on with daily life, but is unable to do so fully.

This quote from Perry’s confession shows the reader an insight on his thoughts for his actions. It’s a key evidence to the crime when it comes down to Perry being insane. It is even ironic because people don't usually murder others who they find nice. It reveals how outside of their zone they were that night. The Clutter’s did nothing wrong to be killed. They were killed because of what they represented to Perry. Mr. Clutter was the father Perry never had and the scapegoat. Perry wanted a happy family he could count on and out of frustration he took it out on them. It goes to show that he committed the murder out of pure envy and jealousy. He genuinely did not want to hurt the family only to get rid of what he never had. His confession proves

In a study done by examining data from the National Crime Victimization Survey it found that blacks experiences higher victimization rate than others in general which could explained why black judges tend to hand out harsher punishment. Therefore is one reason that can influence the decision of a judge they are more concerned for the troubles of minority victims than for the rights of minority criminals. Apprehensions over the uprising and high crime rates of black communities could be another influence on a black judge decision. As result of the high crime especially if it is in their community influences the judges to administer harsher sentences as opposed to those given out by their white counterpart. Black judges give out those harsher

The insanity defense finally received harsh critism from the public until the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Regan. On March 30, 1981 John Hinckley shot the president and several of his aids on live television. The whole world saw the shooting. There was no doubt that he did the shooting. On May 4, 1982, after a seven-week trail, in which a ton of psychiatrist testified for Hinckley's defense, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He was sent to a mental hospital in Washington D.C, where he remains today. This verdict outraged American's, as it should have. How can a man who shoots another man on national television be given a not guilty verdict(Gado)?

They met one another in prison. They became so close that they both got the bright idea that they wanted to go rob a family they have known about that was very wealthy. Perry had depression from the experiences growing up in such a disturbed and twisted childhood. They only drifted downward after he met his partner in crime in prison. He was bullied by his father growing up. He was also abused physically and mentally by his father. You could say the best of life hasn’t been in the best of Perry’s favor. They soon got released from prison and their idea of robbing the family soon became a reality.

"Insanity is defined as a mental disorder of such severity as to render its victim incapable of managing his affairs or conforming to social standards." (Insanity, pg. 1) It is used in court to state that the defendant was not aware of what he/she was doing at the time of the crime, due to mental illnesses. But insanity is a legal, not a medical, definition. There is a difference between mental illness and going insane. Many problems are raised by the existence of the insanity defense. For example, determining the patient's true mental illness (whether they are faking or not), placement of the mentally ill after trial, the credibility of the psychological experts, the percentage of cases that are actually successful,

Dick hickock’s involvement in the clutter murders began when he solicited Perry’s help in planning the crimes, so he is the mastermind of this heinous crime and is just as guilty, if not more guilty than Perry. In the novel dick is the first person to come up with the plan. While in prison dick came up with a plan to get a lot of money (a cinch he called it) while talking to Floyd wells one of Herbert clutter former employees. He heard that Mr. Clutter had a safe filled with thousands of dollars it was then that he came up with a plan to rob the clutters and start a new life in Mexico. Dick said to Floyd wells he’s going to (splatter hair on them walls) leave no witness. This show that dick premeditated this crime having come up with this plan in prison and show that he is the architect of this crime. And this voids dicks excuse that he shouldn’t get the death penalty because he didn’t pull the trigger because while he didn’t pull the trigger he still is the mastermind of this crime. Also dick when he made this plan decided to include Perry in his plan to rob the clutters he immediately wrote a letter to Perry inviting him to help him rob the clutters after getting out of prison. This shows that dick is mastermind behind the clutter murders because here he is pulling someone else to assist him in committing this crime