TAILIEUCHUNG - Gale Encyclopedia Of American Law 3Rd Edition Volume 5 P46

Gale Encyclopedia of American Law Volume 5 P46 fully illuminates today's leading cases, major statutes, legal terms and concepts, notable persons involved with the law, important documents and more. Legal issues are fully discussed in easy-to-understand language, including such high-profile topics as the Americans with Disabilities Act, capital punishment, domestic violence, gay and lesbian rights, physician-assisted suicide and thousands more. | 438 INSANITY DEFENSE Is There a Need for the Insanity Defense Though the insanity defense is rarely invoked in criminal trials it remains a controversial issue. Legislators and the public generally question the need for the defense after a defendant in a highly publicized murder case is found not guilty by reason of insanity. For example when John Hinckley successfully used the defense after shooting President ronald reagan to impress the actress Jodie Foster there was a public outcry. Legal and medical commentators have divided opinions about the need for the insanity defense. Those who wish to retain it note that 48 of the 50 states have some type of insanity defense. This they claim is evidence of the need for such a defense. The public is given a distorted view of who uses the defense and how it is employed. In fact about one percent of criminal defendants invoke the defense. More important criminals rarely beat the rap by pleading insanity. When an insanity defense is employed it means the defendant admits committing the criminal behavior and is now seeking a not guilty verdict on the basis of his state of mind. If the jury does not agree the defendant will be convicted and generally will serve a longer sentence than will someone convicted of the same crime who has not pleaded insanity. Juries find for only about 20 percent of the defendants who plead insanity. Even this figure does not reflect the reality that many insanity pleas are the result of plea bargains which indicates that prosecutors agree that such pleas are sometimes appropriate. Finally the fact that most highly publicized cases involve murder disguises the true demographics 60 to 70 percent of insanity pleas are for crimes other than murder. They range from assault to shoplifting. All these myths have led to the belief that criminals can avoid punishment by claiming insanity. The truth is that the insanity defense is a risky one at best. Apart from combating these myths advocates of the insanity

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