The insanity defense admits to a crime but claims the defendant was unable to judge or avoid their actions due to mental illness. Long-lasting conditions like schizophrenia make it easier to prove, while temporary insanity requires irrefutable evidence. Different regions define insanity differently, and defendants must prove they were unable to help committing the crime or distinguish between right and wrong. A psychiatric examination is required, and funding for an expert witness may be provided by the jurisdiction.
When a person has clearly committed a crime, there are a few ways to avoid guilty verdicts, such as being found not guilty by reason of insanity. This plea admits the actions committed, but states that the client could not judge or avoid the actions due to a mental condition. It is also a determination that a jury and judge can make if it is proven that the person was, and may still be, insane when a crime was committed. When people try to obtain this not guilty verdict, it is called an insanity defense, and the possibility of being found not guilty in this way requires significant evidence from psychiatric experts.
It is much easier to demonstrate a defense against insanity when long-lasting and established mental health conditions exist. For example, someone with schizophrenia, although most schizophrenics are law-abiding members of society, may be able to more easily claim that they are not guilty because of insanity. This could be especially true if the schizophrenic was not or was not being treated adequately at the time the crime was committed.
It is more difficult to try to prove temporary insanity, unless irrefutable evidence exists. For example, a brain tumor pressing on the wrong area of the brain could cause anger or violent urges that the person cannot help. This plea is not always that strong and may not convince a jury, but there is a strong case for the temporary insanity defense because it could lead to immediate release after trial. When someone uses an insanity defense that isn’t temporary, he could be locked up in a mental institution for months or years, until he can prove he’s sane.
Different regions define insanity or temporary insanity in various ways. Usually, defendants who make this plea must prove one of two things: they could not help committing a crime because they were the victim of an insanity condition, or, alternatively, they were unable to distinguish between right and wrong. This last test is called the McNaughton (M’Naghten) rule.
There may be other distinctions within each jurisdiction as to what types of insanity are considered. For example, addiction to mind-altering substances may not be insanity even when considered a mental health condition by the mental health community’s primary diagnostic textbook, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals. People need to know when a request for insanity is warranted, based on the laws in their area.
People who plead not guilty by reason of insanity can expect to undergo a psychiatric examination by an expert witness who will testify in court whether or not he finds evidence of insanity. Many jurisdictions will support a defendant who makes this plea by funding an expert witness if the defendant cannot afford it. It is often believed that people who are able to fund their testimony have better control over that testimony, but there can be excellent state psychiatrists who take their job seriously and do whatever they can to help a defendant.
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