yeah because if you're convicted as sane you get a fixed prison term, if you're determined insane then it's life without hope of parole unless you're ever deemed safe.
Is mental illness an excuse for wrongdoing?
- Thread starter Sefirosu
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yeah because if you're convicted as sane you get a fixed prison term, if you're determined insane then it's life without hope of parole unless you're ever deemed safe.
Unfortunately it's ignorance like the OP's that keeps a lot of people with mental illness from getting help. I don't mean to cause offense by calling you ignorant, I mean it in the literal sense that you don't know enough about the topic to form a educated opinion.
It completely depends on the mental illness for a start, some may play a part whilst others do not.
As someone mentioned above, it is not an excuse but can be a reason for why people do such things.
Also, it depends on what you mean by mental illness really. Really, you could say that every single murderer/serial killer/rapist/paedophile etc has something mentally wrong. Whether they have a diagnosis from something like DSM-IV-TR is another thing.
Plus it is always the thing of, why do the majority of people without such mental illnesses not go on to commit that crime. There are many reasons, so in my opinion, it is definitely not an excuse but can be a causal factor for some
As someone mentioned above, it is not an excuse but can be a reason for why people do such things.
Also, it depends on what you mean by mental illness really. Really, you could say that every single murderer/serial killer/rapist/paedophile etc has something mentally wrong. Whether they have a diagnosis from something like DSM-IV-TR is another thing.
Plus it is always the thing of, why do the majority of people without such mental illnesses not go on to commit that crime. There are many reasons, so in my opinion, it is definitely not an excuse but can be a causal factor for some
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The progressive leftists created Anders Breivik through mass immigration and their idea of a diverse (white free) Europe.
I can't say I have much sympathy for those people they reaped that they sowed.
I can't say I have much sympathy for those people they reaped that they sowed.
Mental illness obviously can be an excuse for wrongdoing as the law fully supports it. Ethically it is right, also, as some people really are not of sound-mind, or else otherwise incapacitated. The thing with Breivik is that he's delusional and so ideologically far-out that people are sure he is given to schizophrenic episodes. He has delusions of grandeur and this whole conspiracy about a European right-wing white-knight circle or something. He knew that killing was wrong and he conditioned himself (much like the armed forces do) to glaze-over the emotional aspect of killing.
Basically trying to declare Breivik as insane is an ideological thing in the Norwegian government: they want to declare him 'insane' so that they can safely put his right-wing Christian views beyond the pale. A statement that 'this is not normal, sane behaviour'. It doesn't have much to do with people with genuine mental disturbance that end up committing crimes.
Basically trying to declare Breivik as insane is an ideological thing in the Norwegian government: they want to declare him 'insane' so that they can safely put his right-wing Christian views beyond the pale. A statement that 'this is not normal, sane behaviour'. It doesn't have much to do with people with genuine mental disturbance that end up committing crimes.
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So you don't agree with the legal defenses of insanity or diminished responsibility? I think in a murder they are pretty important.
Or what about automatism? What about the lorry driver that has a fit and crashes into a hatchback in the fast lane, killing the driver?
No defense on mental grounds?
Soldato
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So say you had an undiagnosed condition that caused you to lapse into a psychotic or disassociated episode. Say you killed someone during this period - perhaps you were behind the wheel. You wouldn't plead not guilty on defense of one of the above-listed defenses? You'd plead guilty and take 20 years?
Soldato
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how so?
would you say then, that a 4 year old that commits a crime should be treated the same as an adult?
If it's caused by a medical condition, and if you took ordinary precautions (i.e. were not criminally negligent), then you'd probably have a defense in the court-room.
Quoted to highlight the level of utter stupidity in some people.