Insanity Defense Essay

The Insanity Defense

Christian Hopkins
Intro to the Legal Process 1020 L01
Leo Rowe
March 15th, 2017

The insanity defense is used by criminals who plead that they are mentally insane to avoid a more serious sentence. In most of the insanity defense cases, the defendant typically has some sort of mental issue during the time of the crime that caused them to commit the crime. “A criminal defendant who is found to have been legally insane when he or she committed a crime may be found not guilty by reason of insanity. In some cases, the defendant may be found guilty but sentenced to a less severe punishment due to a mental impairment” (Reuters). There are countless reasons to why an individual might plead to be criminally insane. The

The British judiciary system made a law that states if a man doesn’t understand the severity of the crime, he shall not be held accountable because the man knows no better than a child or a brute. The courts have found methods to determine whether a person is legally insane and those methods are the M’Naghten Rule, Irresistible Impulse Test, The Durham Rule, and The Model Penal Code test for legal insanity. The M’Naghten Rule determines whether or not the defendant understood what he or she did or they cannot differentiate between what is morally right and wrong. The M’Naghten Rule originates from Daniel M’Naghten (who was seen of as insane) being acquitted of his actions after trying to assassinate the Prime Minister back in 1843. The Irresistible Impulse Test is thought to come

Manson, as most of America knew, was a little off his rocker and would not cooperate with his attorney. Charles Manson fired his first lawyer and got a new one. At first glance, his new lawyer, Daye Shinn, knew Charles Manson would be a picture-perfect candidate for the not guilty by reason of insanity and he could be one of the few people to be acquitted of charges due to legal insanity. As Charles Manson sat in the court room, he acted as if he didn’t hear the judge talking to him as he continued to sing quietly, “Mr. Black Man, Please forgive me.” He was later heard mumbling, “Man, I’m going to stick to gasoline.” These crazy remarks led Superior Court Judge William B. Keene to have Manson examined by a professional psychiatrist. Charles Manson is now 83 and is still confined behind the bars of the California State prison system without the chance of parole.
The top characteristic of an insane person is their inability to separate reality from fantasy. Typically, a mental illness can be induced by a serious trauma, partially damaging the frontal lobe portion of a person’s brain. Mental illness’ and psychopathic disorders are both