The Man Who Killed A Colorado Movie Theatre

Regardless of what you might see on TV the verdict of “not guilty by the reason of insanity” is an immensely rare plea for anyone. A majority of offenders with a mental illness still end up incarcerated. Even though the United States only makes up 5% of the world's population we account for 25% of the world's prisoners. Which converts to 2.2 million prisoners and about 1.2 million of those people have a mental illness (Fellner). Mental illness within our jails and prisons has become very prevalent within our correctional systems over the last 10 years. The number of men and women who have a mental illness that end up in jail or prison grows day by day. For those who do not go into the prison with a mental illness, will very likely develop some form of mental illness after being released from incarceration. The mentally ill do not belong in prison, the purpose for incarceration is retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation, and though it is originally meant for all of these purposes, it has lost its meaning. Correctional facilities are not built to provide treatment for the mentally ill, and the people who have been diagnosed with a mental illness cannot get the long-term treatment they need inside of a prison cell.

Mental Illness has been prevalent all throughout our history from Isaac Newton to Abraham Lincoln to Sylvia Plath and so on. These illnesses can be as minor as a slight bipolar disorder or as severe as schizophrenia. In recent years, mental illnesses are becoming more prevalent in our criminal justice systems than anywhere else. Mental illness is becoming an association with crime and based on the information that has been found, this paper will attempt to further define the problem of mental illness within our criminal justice system and offer alternatives or insights as to how to possibly help with this problem.

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

There are some differences between a normal criminal and a criminal that suffers from a mental illness in the criminal justice system. For example one of the many fundamentals to our criminal justice system is the principle that no one can be tried or adjudged to punishment while mentally incompetent. Trials for mentally unstable people have been modified and are run by different guidelines. Unlike a regular convict, most mentally unstable convicts are unable to comprehend or are unable to complete a trial. Once a convict with a mental illness is convicted or awaiting trail their every medical need must be accommodated within the faculty and it's staff. Without the proper medical care a person with mental illness can become

I do not believe that all individuals accused of a crime should be able to use an insanity defense because it would morally unjust. Some people who commit a crime do know what is happening and that is was wrong at the time of the cime. If the defense chooses to belive the criminal is insane then they should be given the substantial- capacity test to ensure that they did

The first criminal defense is pleading insanity which is an affirmative defense. Insanity is a “legal term rather than a medical one, and indicates a condition that renders the affected person incapable of rational thought, thereby removing criminal culpability” (Pollock, 2013). This means that a defendant is not responsible for their actions due to having mental health issues. If a defendant pleads guilty to a crime, but is found to be legally insane; they will still serve their sentence but with a lesser severe punishment. Once a defendant pleads insanity, they are often required to have a mental examination. When a defendant is in a court of law, they may claim that they were as mentally impaired with illness as to be “insane” at the time that they were committing the illegal act (Pollock, 2013). However, when pleading insanity it can also create issues by being used in a criminal proceeding.

In the states Idaho, Montana, Utah and Kansas the insanity defense has been abolished due to John Hinckley being neither found or guilty by reason of insanity in his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan. In cases where there is no option of the Insanity Defense, evidence of the defendant’s mental state may

The insanity defense has become popularized by criminal television shows, but it is not used as portrayed. According to Dr. Zachary Torry, a psychiatrist, the defense is actually used in one percent of cases and not even one-fourth of those cases will succeed in front of a jury (Torry). Furthermore, the legal definition of insanity is very different than the societal definition. As stated by George Blau, a criminal defense lawyer, “insane” does not describe someone who is psychotic or crazy, but it instead describes someone who does not know the difference between right or wrong. They are found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) because one of the three traits of a crime is not evident. The three traits are a guilty mind (mens rea), a prohibited act, and a pre-established sentence (Blau). For the insane, there is no mens rea because someone cannot feel guilty for an act that they do not know is wrong. Therefore, those found NGRI have a different punishment than those convicted of a crime. Their sentence is often time at a mental institution where treatment is available, but the sentences can be irregular and unchecked by government associations. Therefore, the insanity defense may need to be amended, by requiring monitoring of the cases and adopting the mens rea approach or to be completely abolished because of its potential improper use and a lack of proof.

In differ to Woodcock‘s finding the court had appointed psychiatrist who had examined Holmes prior to the shootings and after the shootings. They found out the Holmes was mentally ill but had capability of what’s rights and what 's wrong. Even if Holmes had capability

The facts of the case are very clear and evident that James Holmes should have been sentenced to life in prison or preferably the death sentence. In many states throughout the United States the death penalty is not enforced. The death penalty is a controversy that has been going on in the United States for a very long time. Thirty-one states in the United States favor the death penalty. Colorado is one of those states. There were many clinical psychology issues that were involved in this case. Since Mr. Holmes pleaded insanity. The clinical psychologist has the client as the patient in a trial so confidentiality cannot be breached. A clinical psychologist in this case would have to use their knowledge of mental illness and then they would make a decision as to if their client, in this case, Mr.Holmes, was insane as he pleaded or if they thought he was in the right state of mind. Insanity as defined in the Forensic and Legal Psychology book states that insanity refers to the criminal’s state of mind in the time the crime was committed. Insanity requires that, due to a mental illness, a defendant lacks moral responsibility and culpability for their crime, and

During the opening statements by Holmes’ lawyer Daniel King, he stated that Holmes was a normal child, but began to have mental health problems in middle school and attempted suicide at age 11 (Villanueva, 2015). Holmes was also described as socially awkward and possibly something deeper. "Mental illness can strike like cancer, without regard to your background, without regard to your status in life, without regard to how intelligent you are," defense attorney Tamara Brady told the jury; "And when James Holmes was born, he had this psychotic mental illness in his blood. It was in his DNA." (O’Neill, 2015) Holmes continued to keep away from other even in High School and was even noted by a coach that he was uncomfortable standing close to other

When answering the question(s) should James Eagan Holmes, who convicted of 24 counts of murder and 140 counts of attempted murder for the July 20, 2012 shooting of the Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, is a tough one. For one thing, I do feel he is mentally unstable and has a chemical imbalance in his brain. When it comes down to it, he should be put the rest, because I feel as, do some of the juniors or in the medical field, that he planned the whole event. The question was the MI the cause of the event, or was the event cause from his will to

In a legal defense case these disorder can be used as a vital piece of evidence such as manner. If the attorney feels that the individual cannot stand trial, they may in turn ask the judge for a plea of insanity due to the mental capacity of the victim.

We do not believe the jury in Anatomy of Murder was correct to acquit Manion based on the irresistible impulse variation of the insanity defense. Although the insanity defense is a legitimate defense to use during trials, the crime itself, by the accuser, should still be regarded as such. Instead of acquitting Manion completely and letting him go free of murder, the jury and judge should have ordered Manion to go through several supervised mental health recovery programs. We believe that it is extremely unfair and unjust for an accuser to be fully acquitted of a crime due to the negligence of their health or their lack of overall expectancy. Despite the fact that many suffer from mental health, the act of killing, such as the one in this film,

In the United States, a defense for criminal intent is the plea of insanity, where an offender can plead to having been insane when he perpetrated the offense, the application of insanity as a defense in the United States is synonymous and widely associated with United States v. Hinckley, (1982). The defendant had attempted to assassinate president Ronal Regan but failed in his attempts and wounded a couple of people. At trial, defendant produced evidence in that point to the fact he was not guilty due to insanity. The jury found him not guilty since he lacked the men 's rea necessary for committing the crime. It must be noted that in the U.S, jurors shy away from finding persons with mental deficiency not guilty, they are punished for their crimes and receive medical care while serving their sentences, however much they have been rehabilitated they will never get out of jail.