Pros And Cons Of The Insanity Plea

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Would you say someone that makes a belt out of female nipples is crazy? What about someone that makes a lampshade out of a human face? Both of these crimes were committed by a known serial killer Ed Gein (Colby). While committing these serious offenses, one might wonder if the people who do these actions are mentally insane. Therefore, if they are insane or mentally ill, should they be blamed for their actions? If not, the alternative is the insanity plea. The insanity plea is a defendant claiming the reasoning for their actions is due to their mental state and the time of the felony (Stewart). Although this is true, it is not typically a good route to take when awaiting trial because it does not have high rates of success. With most serious felonies, lawyers and detectives find reasoning for the crime, meaning that the crime was planned and thought through. Using the insanity plea when the person is competent is wrong because they are only use it as an excuse.
People use the insanity plea as an excuse due to the trepidation of …show more content…
These people say it will protect them from going to jail and from facing consequences. While this may be true in rare circumstances, for the most part using the insanity plea will not actually prevent people from going to prison. Instead of preventing people from jail, the insanity plea only stalls them until they are mentally stable to go. When a person commits a crime and successfully plead insane, that person gets tested by a psychiatrist to see what level they are at. Dr. Backscheider describes these levels based on three different categories that are tested. These categories are cognitive, mood altering, and personality disorders. These categories range from one to twelve to see how sane or insane a person is. If that person’s level isn’t too low they get help at a psychiatric center until mentally stable, then gets sentenced by a judge to
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