What are the problems with the insanity defense?
Asked by: Erica Bechtelar | Last update: September 21, 2025Score: 4.2/5 (15 votes)
Arguments against the insanity defense are then presented, including the early release of dangerous persons from psychiatric facilities, a jury's inability to judge between conflicting psychiatric testimony about a defendant's mental state at the time of the offense at issue, the subjectivity of psychiatric opinion, ...
What are the issues with the insanity defense?
Arguments against the moral basis of the defense tend to confuse causation with excuse or moral and legal concepts with medical concepts. Other arguments against the defense, such as that it produces wrong verdicts or that assessment of past mental state is too difficult, also fail to convince.
What are the pros and cons of the insanity defense?
- History of the insanity defense. The insanity defense in criminal cases goes back to the mid-19th century in Great Britain. ...
- Pro: It creates a middle ground. ...
- Con: The plea can be abused. ...
- Pro: It establishes guilt. ...
- Con: The jury may be pushed beyond its competence.
What is the controversy surrounding the insanity plea?
Some argue that the insanity defense perpetuates the stigma surrounding mental illness. It implies that individuals with mental health issues are inherently dangerous and incapable of controlling their actions, reinforcing negative stereotypes.
What is a commonly cited criticism of the insanity defense?
Question: What is a commonly cited criticism of the insanity defense? Clinicians disagree over the definition of legal insanity. People have free will and thus can resist the urge to commit violence. Dangerous criminals use it to escape punishment. The jury has to weigh the claims of opposing experts.
Insanity Defense: Why Our Failure to Confront Hard National Security Problems Makes Us Less Safe
Why should the insanity defense be abolished?
Abolition of the insanity defense has the advantages of affording greater protection to society, fairer treatment to mentally ill persons, and increased effectiveness in the administration of justice.
What is the most controversial defense of justification is insanity?
Insanity defense is the single most controversial legal doctrine relating to the mentally ill. All the formulations of the insanity defense require that the impairment claimed in mental functioning being a result of mental disease or defect. Defect is usually understood to refer to mental retardation.
Why is the insanity defense so hard to prove?
The insanity defense looks to the defendant's mental state at the time the crime was committed, not at the time of the trial. The bar for this defense is very difficult to meet, as many conditions must be met to put on a successful insanity defense. The defense has the burden of proving insanity.
How often is the insanity defense successful?
The Insanity Defense in Practice
In felony cases, the defense is invoked less than 1% of the time, and even when it is employed, it is only successful 25% of the time.
What is the ultimate issue in an insanity case?
The "ultimate issue" in an insanity case refers to the final determination or conclusion that needs to be made by the jury or judge. This typically involves deciding whether the defendant was legally insane at the time of the alleged crime.
What is the burden of proof for the insanity defense?
A defendant may constitutionally be required to prove his/her insanity by a standard as high as beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 799. It therefore follows that placing the burden on the defendant to prove the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence is constitutional.
What four states do not recognize the insanity defense?
Four states (Kansas, Montana, Idaho, and Utah) explicitly don't allow for the insanity defense. In other states, the requirements of the law for proving this defense vary widely.
Can insanity defense be eliminated?
The Supreme Court held today in Kahler v. Kansas that the Constitution does not require states to use a definition of the insanity defense that “compels the acquittal of any defendant who, because of mental illness, could not tell right from wrong when committing his crime.”
What are the results of insanity defense?
A: The mental disorder defense is not successful in most cases. Of the roughly 1% of criminal defendants who plead insanity, only . 26% are found not guilty by reason of insanity.
What is true about the insanity defense?
The insanity defense refers to a defense that a defendant can plead in a criminal trial . In an insanity defense, the defendant admits the action but asserts a lack of culpability based on mental illness. The insanity defense is classified as an affirmative defense , rather than a partial defense .
Why is insanity defense reform long overdue?
Multiple studies have concluded that strong juror biases exist during trials when the insanity defense is used." Often, jurors come into a trial with negative perception of the defense.
What are the ethical issues with the insanity defense?
First, the present dissatisfaction with the insanity defense is largely rooted in public concern about the premature release of dangerous persons acquitted by reason of insanity. Increased danger to the public, however, is not a necessary consequence of the insanity defense.
Is the insanity defense abused?
The insanity defense commonly is believed to be used too frequently in the courts and is regarded by some individuals as a way in which a guilty person can escape punishment.
Does pleading insanity reduce your sentences?
So, while pleading insane may possibly help you with an acquittal of your charges, that does not mean you will not be sentenced to long-term in-patient treatment. This is, compared to if you did not plead insanity and were convicted of a crime.
Why is it difficult to evaluate insanity?
Focus on legal standards: The insanity defense is a legal concept rather than a clinical one, meaning that merely having a mental disorder is not enough to establish insanity in a legal context. In the medical field, mental status is evaluated on a continuum, ranging from extremely ill to completely healthy.
What happens if someone is found not guilty by reason of insanity?
After completion of a psychological evaluation, the court makes a decision about the beneficiary's sanity. An insanity judgment results in a verdict of "not guilty." If the beneficiary's insanity condition continues, it may result in commitment to a mental facility for the criminally insane or to a mental hospital.
How many times is the insanity defense used?
In reality, however, various criminal studies have established that only about one percent of all felony cases in the United States involve use of the insanity defense. Moreover, even when the defense is asserted, it is successful in only about 30 cases every year.
Why do people not like the insanity defense?
Results from a public opinion survey of knowledge, attitudes, and support for the insanity defense indicate that people dislike the insanity defense for both retributive and utilitarian reasons: they want insane law-breakers punished, and they believe that insanity defense procedures fail to protect the public.
What is the most difficult insanity defense to prove?
A defense of “temporary insanity” is difficult to prove. If a defendant asserts temporary insanity as a defense, they are claiming that: They were legally insane at the time of the alleged crime. They are lawfully sane now.
What are the arguments for the insanity defense?
Arguments for the continued use of the insanity defense are based in the concept of fairness and justice, which holds that a person whose mind is clouded by mental illness at the time of an offense cannot be said to have the criminal intent required for legal guilt.