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Pros And Cons Of Insanity Defense

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The insanity defense is also known as the mental order defense. In the criminal justice system, a defendant that been evaluated to be legally insane when he or she committed the crime in some states may be found not guilty because of insanity (Schouten, 2012). This does vary, and it depends on the state laws and regulation when it comes to a case like this. However, in some cases the person may be found guilty and is sentenced to less time. For example, the time frame for murder is 20-25 years, but they may be only held accountable to do 5 years, due to their mental illness. In some court cases, a person may be sentenced other forms of punishment such as, institutionalized in a mental hospital or what we call a hospital for individuals with …show more content…

There have been many controversies in the past regarding the insanity such as, why are these individuals allowed to be free. However, as listed above is the person has a mental illness then they are not held accountable for their actions. Which insanity defense is the most common used by the States? The most common insanity defense used by the states is the “M” Naghten because it defines that if a person commits a crime they may not be found guilty because of the individual mentality (Yoong, 2012). The Steinberg trial was a case where he was able to walk away as a free man, because the courts stated that he had a mental illness (Yoong, 2012). Steinberg stabbed his wife 26 times and was still able to walk away as a free man (Yoong, 2012). However, this is not always the case just cause an individual claim to be insane, they still can be charged unless it is proven by a professional (Yoong, 2012). For example, the criminal case in 1941, where the bothers robbed a payroll truck in Manhattan, and in the mix of escaping they killed a cop (Yoong, 2012). During their trial the brothers tried to prove that they were not in their right state of mind during the robbery (Yoong, 2012). They started exhibiting behaviors in the court room like banging their head on the table etc. The courts were not convinced and still sentenced these individuals with the death penalty. In my opinion, this criminal defense is often raised a lot today, because individuals are aware of the insanity defense and will try to use it to get out of

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