Research Writing Exercise:
The Insanity Plea
Research Writing Exercise:
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Use the following simulated notes to create a short paper in which you use the researched information and document it properly. Assume that any material that is not in quotation marks is your paraphrase, which means you can change it further if you wish. All material that is in quotes must be used exactly as is. Remember to introduce the speaker (w/ credentials) of all direct quotes.
The foundation of today's insanity plea can be found in the McNaghter decision which was devised by the English in l843. The McNaghter rule, which was adopted by most U.S. courts, declared that a defendant could not be found guilty if he was "Laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind as not to know the nature or quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong."
Time October 6, l981 Bennet Beach "Picking Between the Mad and the Bad" page 65
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The insanity plea is used only once in over a thousand cases and of those who use the plea, only a fraction get away with it. In l980, only 259 defendants out of 52,000 convicted felons successfully pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and even when a defendant is certifiably insane, juries are often reluctant to acquit.
"The Insanity Plea on Trial" Newsweek May 24, l982 p.59
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The concept of insanity, in and of itself, is a legal term because it deals with criminality and intent, and the psychiatrists would be the first to admit that they're unable to make such an evaluation.
"Mental Disabilities and Criminal Responsibility" Center Nov/Dec l982 p. 10 Donald McDonald
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"Behavioral scientists should not be asked to testify about the ultimate question of moral culpability because it is an issue of personal and social ethics rather than science."
--William Vicary
asst. prof of clinical psychiatry & law Univ of Southern Cal
Time Joseph Boyce "Is the System Guilty?" July 5, l982 p. 26
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Lawyers view psychiatrists as uninterested in human rights and public safety, authoritative, and unreliable. Other lawyers doubt the honor of many psychiatrists and openly boast they can "buy" any psychiatric opinion they need.
"The Psychiatrist in Court--Theatre of the Absurd" p. 288 American Journal of Psychotherapy Stanley Leese July, l982
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a l972 Supreme Court ruling said defendants found incompetent to stand trial because of mental illness could not be held interminably, and other court judgments that freed non-dangerous patients who were not receiving treatment have led to inadequate de-institutionalization policies. Because of these therapeutic and legal changes, the number of criminally insane defendants who have been released has increassed a great deal. In Michigan, l12 of 223 criminally insane defendants were releassed after only a 60 day hospital stay.
Newsweek May 24, l982 "The Insanity Plea on Trial"p. 59.
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Michael Hightower, a 32-year-old Vietnam veteran, raped two women in Idaho. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and released after less than a year of treatment. Three months later, he shot and killed a 28-yr-old nurse.
Time "Is the System Guilty?" July 5, l982 p. 26 Joseph Boyce
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Theodore Frank was released from Abascodera State Hospital in l978 where he had been treated for previous sex crimes. Supposedly, Frank was cured and was a model patient. Two months after his release, however, Frank murdered 2-yr-old Amy Sue Sikes after brutally molesting her. Two weeks later Frank raped 6-yr-old Melinda Redimine.
"Crime and Insanity" NBC TV April l2, l983 New York Edward Newman
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A reform was instituted by the state of New York where a judge must approve before criminally insane patients can be released from mental hospitals. Because of this, patients in New York spend about as much time in hospitals as comparable felons spend in jail
Newsweek May 24, l982 "The Insanity Plea on Trial" p. 59
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"Society itself is guilty of a crime if it punishes a person for an act he could not help. It is all very well to say that a mad dog should be shot, but a society that punishes a mad human as if he were a dog is guilty of betraying the civilized element of compassion that distinguishes man from beast."
--psychiatrist William Vicary
quoted in USA Today April l982 p. 5 "Criminal Insanity Law Needs Reform"
