Midterm Exam Question 1(A)
The insanity defense is used as a loophole for some sane serious offenders to avoid the death penalty for their horrific crimes but for some its an actual mental disability that influences or motivates them to carry out and execute these cruel and horrendous crimes. [1]A person accused of a crime can acknowledge that they committed the crime, but argue that they are not responsible for it because of their mental illness, by pleading “not guilty by reason of insanity.” The insanity defense is traditionally classified as an excuse defense, in contrast with justification defenses like self-defense. This classification indicates that, while the action committed by a defendant was impermissible, the actor is excused because of a prevailing condition, here insanity. These legally insane offenders often times have very similar traits,characteristics and the same upbringing.They usually have abusive or neglecting mothers and have had many traumatising experiences throughout their childhood, such as molestation and other forms of sexual assault as well as the death .From the many cases we discussed in class these are 4 cases in which the insanity defense was plead in a court of law ;Andrea Yates, Arthur Shawcross, Kenneth Bianchi and Ralph Tortorici. Out of these 4 cases ,the insanity defense was justified and in the other 2, it wasn’t justified.
Arthur Shawcross( also known as the Genesee River Killer), was a serial killer active in Rochester, New York who murdered 11 women from 1988 to 1990.Arthur Shawcross’s defense team built a case based upon an insanity plea,citing various mitigating factors,such as PTSD caused by his military service ,a cyst on the brain and most important of all ,his upbringing.Shawcross claimed to have been molested and sexually assaulted on numerous accounts throughout his childhood,bullied in school,and dropped out of school in grade 9. Some of his claims about why he was troubled were found out to be false by his parents and other professionals and this forced the court to deem him legally sane.Even though he was deemed legally sane by the court i still believe him pleading the insanity defense was completely justified as him being “mentally slow” and abused were actually true as tests showed he had a very low IQ and was severely bullied in school as well as himself making claims of him performing beastiality.
The second individual i believe to have a justified insanity defense was Andrea yates, a mother of 5 from Houston,Texas who drowned all of her children in June’ 2001 .Andrea Yates was a stellar student and class valedictorian. Later on her life she was diagnosed with psychosis and postpartum depression, which was an illness that ran in her family After the death of her father and the birth of her fifth child,she was diagnosed with severe depression and was admitted into a mental health institute.[2] “She pleaded innocence by reason of insanity citing postpartum psychosis. In March 2002, a jury rejected the insanity defense and found Yates guilty of first degree murder, sentencing her to life in prison with eligibility for parole in 40 years.”This is another instance where i believe that the insanity defense is completely justified as Andrea Yates had a very serious history with depression and other psychotic issues.I personally also believe that a sane mother does not have the ability to drown her own flesh and blood ,especially her children.
Kenneth Bianchi also known as the Hillside strangler, was an American Serial Killer ,kidnapper and rapist convicted for the murder of 10 victims and 2 more later on.During his trial bianchi fabricated an Insanity defense by faking multiple personality disorder. He claimed that his alter ego “Steve Walker”, committed the murders and that he had no memory of him committing them. He was later deemed by the court to be lying and was charged for all 12 murders.This is an instance where the insanity defense was not justified as the defendant was lying about the whole time.
Anna Tang is a former Wellesley student who was charged with attempted murder of her boyfriend who she stabbed repeatedly in an MIT dorm. She had a history with depression and bipolar disorder ,which she sought help for when she arrived at Wellesley in 2005, she was prescribed anti depressants for her bipolar disorder, which does not help the condition at all, and in turn worsens it but,In my opinion it still does not justify her insanity plea for stabbing here ex-boyfriend, Wolfe B. Styke G, violently ,8 times nearly killing him.
[1]https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/insanity_defense
[2]Andrea Yates.” Biography.com. A&E Networks Television, 27 June 2016. Web. 12 July 2017.