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The Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Defense

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Those who are insane can be declared innocent if proven “not aware” of what they were doing when they were committing a crime and breaking the law. The mentally insane are able to be given smaller punishment, no jail time, or no punishment. These people are also given treatment for their mental illness but, it is not much better than imprisonment. These defendants may have committed a horrible crime, but will not be punished for it, because they are insane. Some defendants may use the insanity plea to escape imprisonment, but they are not truly insane. If you wouldn’t want a murderer to go free of punishment, then you don’t want a criminal to be innocent, because of their “mental illness”. The Insanity Defense should not exempt the mentally ill from prosecution for their crimes, reminding us that insanity is not an excuse for criminal actions.
The Insanity Defense is used in a criminal case and argues that a defendant is not guilty because they were not responsible for their actions while committing a criminal act. Some defendants under the defense may be declared NGRI; not guilty by …show more content…

No one exceeds the law so much that they are exempt from punishment for committing a crime. The law and justice systems are here to keep us safe and someone could use their “mental illness” to escape incarceration and put others in danger. It would be unwise to let a gang leader go free from a life sentence in prison, because he was ruled insane, and he could still endanger someone. The Insanity Defense is rarely used in the United States and it would be wise to get rid of it altogether so, it can’t be misused by criminals looking for a way to escape imprisonment. The Insanity Defense should not be able to excuse someone for fair punishment for their

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