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This has not stopped some defendants - both in fiction and in Real Life - going for this defense under the mistaken belief that a plea of 'insanity' means a cushier time than a regular jail sentence. Because of this, a defendant has the right to insist that this defense not be used in their case.
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Since someone who has been declared "Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity" is incarcerated for psychiatric treatment until they are deemed to be no longer a threat to themselves or others, this can result in a longer loss of freedom than a normal jail sentence would have caused. For instance, a man who shot his wife after catching her in bed with her lover could argue his emotional state at the time makes him guilty of the lesser crime of Manslaughter and not 2nd degree Murder.
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Most states do not allow this defense today.Īlong similar lines, the "Extreme Emotional Disturbance" defense argues mitigating factors compromised the defendant's ability to think rationally. It was most prevalent as a defense during the 1940s and '50s. His recklessness at Gettysburg may have accidentally saved the Union by spooking the Confederates. note Sickles is an interesting figure, because after getting away with this defense he became a general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Congressman Daniel Sickles of New York in 1859, after murdering his wife's lover. This defense was first used in the United States by U.S. Thus, they can be released immediately, rather than being incarcerated for psychiatric treatment. Naturally, since the insanity defense is dramatic, it is used much more often in fiction.Ī variant is "Temporary Insanity," in which the defendant is claimed to have been suffering from an "irresistible impulse" during the crime, but is now sane. Furthermore, it requires expert testimony from a reputable psychiatric authority that the defendant was insane at the time they committed the crime, not just insane in general. Perhaps one percent of criminal cases even attempt an insanity defense, and only about a quarter of those are accepted, primarily if the defendant already has a history of mental illness. It is also a risky gamble, since it is an affirmative defense that requires the defendant to concede culpability in the crime in question and places the burden of proof on the defense to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that their client was insane at the time they comitted the crime. In Real Life, the insanity plea is rare and difficult to succeed with. Some jurisdictions instead have "Guilty But Insane," where insanity cannot be a complete defense, but can be a mitigating factor. Most countries in the modern world have some variation of the insanity defense available to criminal defendants. v M'Naghten in 1843, which were adopted shortly thereafter in other common-law jurisdictions (including the United States). While the use of insanity as a defense has been known since ancient times, it was codified in English law by the ruling in R.