I think that it is possible that some people in trials that haved pleaded temporary insanity, wre not actually insane at the time of the crime, but just trying to avoid jail time.
I don't think it's right for criminals to do this to avoid jail time, when in fact, some people actually were insane. How could a lawyer live with themself after supporting a mass murderer or child molestor?
I heard someone say once that the court system or whatever thats called would rahter have a whole room of of criminals set free than an innocent person convicted
Um well for some reason no one has replied in this thread lol,so ill be the first.
think that it is possible that some people in trials that haved pleaded temporary insanity, wre not actually insane at the time of the crime, but just trying to avoid jail time.
I think your right .One time I saw a specail on ABC about a guy who was blamed for killing some rich guy. Ect.... Then they found out it was the own rich guys butler!!!
Well, the difficulty with pleading insanity in a trial is the fact that the defendant has to prove they were insane. At least in the US justice system, which is difficult to do. Of course, the burden of proof would still be on the prosecution to prove their guilt.
I heard someone say once that the court system or whatever thats called would rahter have a whole room of of criminals set free than an innocent person convicted
That's the idea in the US at least. Of course, innocent people still go to jail, but less than if one was assumed guilty until proven innocent. I'm sure there are countries that still function that way.
Jalex, please don't spam. Now, you have to think about this, pleading insanity to avoid jail time is practically impossible because you had to act insane the whole time from the time of the crime to the court room, to wherever you go after you plead insanity. You'd have to be worse then the Joker from Batman to convince the court to let you go.
I'm not sure if anyone else is familiar with the Robert Durst case, but here's a link with some info:
Basically, the man posed as a woman for several months for the hell of it, and then killed his elderly neighbor, mutilated the body by severing the limbs, put the limbs in garbage bags, and then threw them into Galveston Bay. The limbs were found, and his DNA was found all over.
He was arrested with bail, and since he was a billionaire, he naturally got out. However, he did not show up for his next court hearing, and was found in Pennsylvania after attempting to steal a chicken sandwich and a band-aid from a store, with $500 in his pockets.
He was taken back to Galveston, Texas, where he pleaded insanity. The tests from several different psychologists came up negative, but the judge decided to acquit him of all charges.
Durst is also a suspect in the disappearance of his late wife in the 80's.
I personally think that pleading insanity is a last resort for weird criminals. Durst was not insane-simply troubled and weird. His family members admit to his strangeness being present through most of his life, and previous psychological testing turned up negative for any sort of disorders.
I think that it is possible that some people in trials that haved pleaded temporary insanity, wre not actually insane at the time of the crime, but just trying to avoid jail time.
I sat on a jury where this was the plea of the defendant. The legal requirements in my state for proving such a case are extremely difficult, and thus it was unanimous that this person was not insane at the time of the killing. She was found guilty.
Anyone in here familiar with Edgar Allen Poe? He once wrote a famous short story (Albeit the name escapes me right now.) about a man who killed an elderly man, who he took in through the kindness of his heart, because the man had a slightly disfigured eye. The thing is, the sight of the eye struck his brain with such a potent force, he felt that it was evil! The young man had no reason to kill the elderly man, he was not rich, in fact he was living on the street until he took him in. It's cases like this why we have the 'temporary insanity' plea. Granted, you have a point when saying some use it to their advantage, and I agree with that. But without it, we would be sending...otherwise completely sane people to prison.
Yeah, I remember that story. I also agree that people will do almost anything to avoid or at least reduce jail and/or prison time. I believe that for an insanity plea to be upheld, a certified psychologist should confirm the defendant's condition.
