What we think is crazy is very different than what the law says crazy is. Do the courts recognize different degrees of being impaired? I don't know what else to call it. The guys that killed Dr. Petit's family are just fucked up, I don't think that's crazy. I think there is something mentally wrong with {some} moms who kill but how is all of that determined? Can people just "snap" out of the blue?
McNaughton rule
(law) A test of criminal insanity.
it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.
there is also diminished capacity which can reduce the degree of a crime.
the insanity defense does not work as often as people may think. and not all states allow it.
the cornerstone is that they didn't know right from wrong. not whether they "snapped".
it can be argued that you'd have to be 'crazy' to do certain things, but that does not bear legal weight. it may mitigate in penalty phase.
(02-02-2011, 02:57 AM)DeshanesRule Wrote: When you flat out tell people the difference between right and wrong and they chose wrong and claim they didn't know, how is that classified?
Christ, I'm never going to understand this backwards place.
Just pretend you have a brain and that you passed 2nd grade.
That will bring you up to speed with Maggot, he does alright here with those qualifications.
other than that never admit shit, let those who are to judge you decide for themselves , the world being the fucked up place that it is, you will have a better than even chance that the jury is at least as fucked up as you are.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams
another item of interest re: legal insanity...that is the only thing a defendant is ever required to actually prove in court. everything else must be proven by the prosecution who has the full burden.
Really the defendant is only required to show that their actions were beyond the scope of what a normal person would do under the same circumstances,beyond a reasonable doubt is the yardstick of justice in a criminal trial.
This is the reason that mental defect is so hard to prove, most people can easily place themselves in the shoes of the defendant.
preponderance of the evidence is left to civil courts as the rule.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams
i was clearly talking about criminal trials. people don't generally plead insanity in civil actions.
in fact there are no pleas in civil trials. simply responsible/liable or not.
and a % of liability may be assigned by the court.
(02-02-2011, 08:40 AM)Lady Cop Wrote: i was clearly talking about criminal trials. people don't generally plead insanity in civil actions.
in fact there are no pleas in civil trials. simply responsible/liable or not.
My neighbors make me crazy, and I would include that in my evidence in civil court.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
John Adams
Many years ago I lived in an apartment complex and in the next apartment down the hall from me lived a skin-head that always listened to heavy metal stuff late at night, it sounded like a guy screaming into the microphone and it drove me nuts. Across the hall there was a Gay guy that always complained that I was parking in his spot and he always stole my paper putting it back on my door after he read it. One day I switched the numbers on their mailbox and they got each others mail for a week or so, a week later a fight broke out between the two, an old lady that lived below called the cops, the cops came and took the skin-head away, I think he had a warrant out on his skin-head ass. The Fag moved away shortly after and everything was fine for awhile.
That was a fun summer a bit crazy but fun.
Back home there was a state hospital {since closed}, it sat on massive, beautiful grounds that hugged the river & we'd travel down the old dirt road at the back of the property so we could party on the water and no one would bother us, we were quite a distance from any buildings & one night while peeing in the woods I found a naked crazy lady.
Back home there was a state hospital {since closed}, it sat on massive, beautiful grounds that hugged the river & we'd travel down the old dirt road at the back of the property so we could party on the water and no one would bother us, we were quite a distance from any buildings & one night while peeing in the woods I found a naked crazy lady.