He was not found to have a mental illness by a psychiatrist.
It isn’t a get out of jail card. It means you could be remanded to a mental health facility which for all intents is worse then prison. A mental health facility can hold you till you’re safe to return to society. Which may be never.
That’s important. I haven’t followed every detail of this case, but I think people worry that if we allow people to not be convicted because of mental illness, which can be difficult to assess, that they’ll just invent it as an excuse and get away from everything. In many cases, the person will still be locked away, just in a different type of facility.
Mistrial declared.
True, but the guy I mentioned earlier did eventually get out.
He had to be too old to cause any harm, but he was eventually free.
Agreed, this is a significant nuance that changes my attitude.
As long as the sentencing process of an insanity plea implements appropriate consequences rather than withholding consequences, it’s a good move.
The ideal of any conviction is to ultimately rehabilitate the convict, in order to allow them to lead a productive life, rather than paying exorbitantly to keep them fed but still treat them as irredeemable living garbage.
Often it seems like our justice system is not making any honest attempt to do this.
It isn’t about consequences. It is about getting the person the help they need. We can’t let people who are a danger to themselves or others be out in public.
She fits both criteria. She harmed herself and the children.
I suspect being in a wheel chair has mad her have more suicidal thoughts.
In America we have a weird concept that people who are mentally ill can still make logical and moral decisions. If they could do that, they wouldn’t be mentally ill.
It needs to be about both. Consequences have to follow inappropriate behavior, or a perverse incentive is created.
It doesn’t have to be harsh or draconian. But it needs to help communicate to others that actions will result in things they don’t want.
If the inappropriate behavior wasn’t in the control of the person who committed it, what is the point of the consequences? You can’t deter the future person who also doesn’t have that control.
We could, however, provide support and education so that we reduce the likelihood that this future person will be in the same position.
If the system works the way you’re saying it is, this won’t be a problem.
The trouble with overly compassionate systems is that their designers & proponents often fail to consider how nefarious people will take advantage.
Certainly true. And, assessing mental health is an imperfect process, to say the least.
In this case, it appears 11 jurors wanted to acquit. The prosecution will have to decide whether to pursue the case again with those odds.
Go read the summary of her case.
Killing of the Clancy children - Wikipedia
She was compliant with her medication.
Truthfully, when she started to express a desire to harm herself or others, she should have taken as an inpatient. I get why they didn’t but that is what should have happened. They could have stabilized her meds.
I just don’t see where she needs to be punished. She had a break of the mind and looking at her meds, possibly a wrong diagnosis.
The wrong drugs don’t help, they make things worse.
The law is weird in Mass.
Unlike most defenses, where the defendant must raise reasonable doubt, in Massachusetts:
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The Commonwealth bears the burden of proving criminal responsibility beyond a reasonable doubt once the defense is properly raised
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The defendant does not need to prove lack of criminal responsibility.
The way I read it, the prosecution must prove the defendant is not insane. Sounds convoluted.
I heard a radio report that said Mass also has a law defining reasonable doubt. Don’t know what it says, but that’s rare.
11:1 for aquital.
It isn’t just hormones. I wish people would stop saying this. I didn’t evaluate her but based on the statements, she was severe mental health issues outside of just basic hormones.
Also the medications she was given could exacerbate
some of the symptoms she was having, especially if she wasn’t diagnosed properly.
I don’t know if she was “insane” or not but to sum it up as just hormones is silly. She wasn’t treated for any hormonal issues that I know.
High doses of testosterone can make you more violent. That what roid rage is all about.