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Not Guilty: The Insanity Defense

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When someone commits a crime, he or she may use mental illness as a defense. This is called an insanity plea or insanity defense. What the insanity defense does is try to give the alleged perpetrator a fair trial. At least in extreme cases, society agrees with this principle.The Insanity defense is probably one of the most controversial of all criminal defense strategies, and at the same time is one of the least used. In many cases when it has been used it has tended to cause public debate. The insanity defense confirms that the criminal defendant is not guilty because of his insanity. The theory of defense tells that people who are insane cannot have the intent necessary to commit a criminal action because they either do not know that action is wrong or cannot control their behavior even when they know the act is wrong. However, this theory is rather controversial as it is complicated to define insanity itself, and the situations in which it can be used to excuse criminal responsibility are complex to define An insanity defense is a strategy that is used in court to excuse criminal defendant from being punished for making a crime. It means that even after it is verified that a defendant has made a crime, he may avoid criminal liability using a legal insanity …show more content…

As it is supposed that a mentally sick person is unable to make right decisions, many people are sure that such criminal defendants should not be legally responsible for their crimes. Usually, a person proclaimed not guilty because of his insanity is asked to go through psychiatric evaluation and treatment. Sometimes, in cases of temporary insanity, such psychiatric evaluation and treatment may not be required. Often the criminals, acquitted for reasons of insanity are sent in mental institutions for

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