Psy 270 Schizophrenia

Insanity and Mental Illness

PSY/270

Insanity and mental illness are psychological disorders; however, in the eyes of the law, there is a significant difference between the two. Insanity is a term to describe individuals who are unable to interpret the difference between right and wrong at the time of committing a crime while mentally ill individuals normally acknowledge the difference.

The McNaughten rule cannot be used to defend the actions of a person who drinks alcohol and then murders someone because the individual willingly made the choice to drink alcohol, knowing the potential side effects. Individuals who drink alcohol are aware of the impairments and change in brain chemicals but still choose to drink. The individual is aware of possible consequences involved with drinking alcohol and made the choice of possibly impairing judgments or decisions.

Rational and guilty is when a person is found guilty of a crime and were completely aware of own decisions and actions. Guilty but insane is when a person is found guilty because they are able to establish the concept of right and wrong regarding their actions but are also diagnosed with a mental illness. Instead of the person being ordered treatment in a psychiatric ward, they are sentenced to jail or prison. Not guilty by reason of insanity is when a person is diagnosed as clinically insane and are not capable of determining the difference between right and wrong. The individual is not sentenced to jail or prison; however, ordered to a psychiatric ward for treatment.

If I were deciding this case, I would rule guilty but insane. This is a difficult scenario because it is obvious the criminal has a mental illness if he believed was going to poison him and changed his entire social life. I think his parents should have taken him for evaluation at that time and maybe treatments would have prevented this from happening. It is obvious Mr. Clark knew right from wrong but is diagnosed with a mental illness....