Should mentally ill people be sentenced the same as regular criminals?

Morgan R

Just FYI, a verdict and a plea are totally different animals. A person can plead not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease, but that places the burden on the defense to prove the mental defect or disease (in some states the burden stays with the prosecutor to prove the defendant is not mentally defective). In my jurisdictions (two states); an fairly accurate guess is that there has been, maybe 20 cases in 15 years, that the defendant has actually found not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease. And the cases I can remember were obvious, long term mental defect . In addition, that finding was occompanied by confinement in a mental hospital (except in two cases I recall) . It is very rare successful defense. Obviously, If you look a notorious cases, Manson and other serial killers, the laymans term of "crazy" was apparent, but that is not the legal definition of mental defect. A good example would be the case in one of my states, of an elderly man with dementia that killed his wife because he thought she was suffering. He did not understand right from wrong and really didn't remember killing her. Of course he had to be placed in a facility that could closely supervise him for the remainder of his life. People that are truly mentally defective and do not understand the effects of their acts , are to be pitied, but of course the public deserves to to be safeguarded. (there are other defenses such as "dimished capacity", that have other legal tests however they are all stringent.)

Mo Fayed

No. Even the most primitive peoples make exceptions for the actions of the insane.

Confused <3

I would say no, but nowadays everyone who is put on trial turns out to be "mentally ill". It's becoming an excuse! In an ideal world, of course not!

mlk_maid

No. But I believe some times they use that for a cop out. So that is what makes it hard for the ones that are actually mentally sick.

â™«Kâ™«

Not really, I think mentally ill citizens suffer so much everyday that its enough. Or just sentence them to get some professional help.

Cherrypicker

No. They are usually sent to a secure hospital like Rampton and I don't think being in such a place is exactly a "walk in the park". Inevitably, some criminals will slip through the net; when they are simply evil, rather than insane.

Howard P

Only if they voted for George Bush

address man

No. But they do need to be taken from society and committed to mental institutions.

Kaylee K

yes. even if they are "sick" in the head, they did something wrong. everyone should be treated the same.

ehmlee x

That's a really hard question. Mentally ill is obviously unbalanced in the mind. But to be a regular criminal there HAS to be something wrong up in there head anyway. But if there were such a thing. Than yes i think they should. If you cant control the mentally ill thats there problem.

Jeff G

Just ask yourself this question. " How would you feel if you lost your husband/wife/child/parent because some mentally ill person forgot to take their happy pills?" A crime is a crime, and just because someone is not in their right mind doesn't make that crime go away. We put criminals away from society so that they cannot hurt anyone else. Why should that be any different when dealing with someone who is mentally ill?

cliff

mentally ill means there's something wrong and thus, they should not be sentenced the same thing with the regular criminal.

satcomgrunt

Yes, as should juveniles. The fact is we have laws to protect society as a whole, not individuals. That said both groups should have the same due process rights while being charged. By not treating a mentally ill criminal the same as a sane criminal we are violating one basic premise of our Nation "All men are created equal."

Layla

Not in a civilized society that is aware of the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

soccer_chick8

somebody

no they shouldent because there not in a right state of mind and there not thinknig strait

Well, that would depend upon the crime they committed.

Say we are dealing with a person that has little to no control over impulses they have ( rape, serial killers, child molestation, and other crimes along this line, as most that do these crimes are repeat offenders ), and it is acknowledged that the offender has a mental illness.

But to what degree is that mental illness is the question that the prosecution must determine, and rather or not said illness prevented them from knowing right & wrong, was the crime done with a great deal of planning ( indicating forethought and intelligence ), or was the crime one of oppertunity ?

You can be deemed mentally ill and still face charges if they can reasonably prove you was of sound enough mind to have reasonable understanding that if caught, what you was doing is wrong.

So, yes, most should be held responsible as any other person who would do these types of crimes, and for the ones who are not able to understand right & wrong, they should be segregated from the remainder of society for life.

C o n f u c i a n

Depends how mentally ill. I would consider the majority of criminals mentally ill to a certain degree.

Free Thinker

If they committed a crime, Yes!

multojumbo

yeah. regardless of means and motives they have committed the same crime and live in the same society.

Dave87gn

no, but they should be removed from society

MadGunner

Everyone should be sentenced the same otherwise people can keep pleading insanity, but i think that instead of people being shoved off to jail they should be rehabilitated.

Stewy J

yes

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