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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 6 page paper provides a response to the question of the viability of the insanity defense. This paper considers whether or not the insanity defense is an overused ploy used by defense attorneys to allow their clients to beat the rap or does it reflect the goals of criminal punishment and the belief that it is unfair to hold individuals criminally responsible when they can't control their actions because of mental defect or illness. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Page Count:
6 pages (~225 words per page)
File: MH11_MHinsandef.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the problem with the insanity defense is that individuals who are not insane can avoid criminal prosecution through the successful application of the insanity defense. Though these situations do
happen, the use of the insanity defense that results in an acquittal happens in only a very small number of cases, and those individuals are often admitted to psychiatric facilities
as a result of the clinical findings required for that kind of defense. The insanity defense, or finding a person
accused of a crime "not guilty by reason of insanity or mental defect" is a legal concept. While psychological experts may be used to provide testimony about the psychiatric status
of the defendant, the concept of insanity in relation to the defense of a case is a legal construct, not a medical one. The concept behind the insanity defense
is that someone who is truly delusional and doesnt understand the implications of what they are doing cannot be held responsible for their acts. Clinical diagnoses of major mental
illnesses that result in delusions or homicidal/suicidal ideation, including schizophrenia and major episodic depression become the foundations of an insanity defense (Lippman, 2009)
While the insanity defense gets a considerable amount of public attention whenever it is used, fewer than 1 percent of all cases successfully employ the insanity defense and get an
acquittal (Lippman, 2009). Unlike the burden of proof in general criminal cases, in which the individual is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty, even in the presence of
an insanity claim, individuals are presumed sane until they are proven otherwise (Lippman, 2009). In all states, the burden of proof falls on the defense team to determine that
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