Legal Insanity

Differentiate between mental illness and legal insanity.

During a preliminary hearing, an insanity defense puts across the claim that the defendant was mentally unstable at the time of the crime. Therefore, the suspect is put under evaluation to test the claim. Accordingly, there is a difference between legal insanity and medical illnesses. Legal insanity is described as the concept that influences the courts to make a ruling of guilt or innocence while considering mental illnesses when the crime was committed. In contrast, mental illness is determined immediately before the court trials to determine whether the suspect is deemed incompetent to stand trial—the differences between the processes of legal insanity and mental incompetency influence the verdict made in the court (Schmalleger, 2017).

Explain three of the tests or rules that are used to determine legal insanity.

Legal insanity is determined by testing the defendant’s mental state during the time of the crime. There are some tests or rules that are used to determine legal insanity. They include The M’Naghten Rule, The Durham Rule, and The Brawner Rule. The M’Naghten Rule,1884, dictates that “a person is not guilty of a crime if, at the time of the crime, the person either didn’t know what he or she was doing or didn’t know that what he or she was doing was wrong.” On the other hand, The Durham rule formulated in 1871 dictates that “a person is not criminally responsible for his or her behavior if the person’s illegal actions were the result of some mental disease or defect.” Finally, the Substantial Capacity Test and The Brawner Rule formulated in 1971 dictate that the jury is responsible for determining insanity cases. These three rules are used to determine legal insanity.

Distinguish between being found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) and being found guilty but mentally ill (GBMI).

Rulings also vary in insanity cases. Accordingly, the rulings are either Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity (NGRI) or being found Guilty but Mentally Ill (GBMI). Consequently, GBMI ensures that the person under trial is found guilty and is held responsible for their action despite their mental illness, while NGRI ensures that a person is found not guilty because of their mental incompetency. To conclude, an individual’s mental incompetency influences the court verdict on trial.

References

Schmalleger, F. (2017). Cram101 textbook outlines to accompany: Criminal Justice Today, An Introductory Text For The 21st Century, (14th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

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Legal Insanity

Differentiate between mental illness and legal insanity.

Legal Insanity