Essay On Insanity Defense

671 Words3 Pages
Civil Commitment and the Mentally Ill In society today, more often than not we, in the Justice System see people trying to use the insanity defense. Criminals today are most like repeat offenders or as we have seen in recent years, very rich and famous. These people either know the court system very well or can afford a high priced lawyer that can put an insanity defense together. The psychological community has a lot to deal with when talking about behaviors. Why do the criminals try to make it even worse? Hopefully some valid points can be brought to light about this subject matter. An insanity defense is a plea used by a defendant, to say that they are not guilty because they were lacking the mental capacity to understand that they…show more content…
Also, incarcerated persons might not want treatment because they don’t recognize that they have an illness or they have lost touch with reality all together. When and if the offender experiences a psychotic break, they are taken to a facility so that a doctor can prescribe medication, they can also be forced to take the medication by court order. One expert contends that “we have created a revolving door in which mentally ill cycle from clinics, to homelessness, to jail”. The offenders in California, Texas, Arizona, Maryland, and Oregon, all go through a screening process. They do questionnaire, and or observation through an interview that is done by jail employees or a nurse. Some of the questions that are asked are: Have you ever received treatment for psychiatric disorder or are you currently taking medication(s)? These questions are required by (Penal Code Section 6030), they do not specify that the jail personnel have to be qualified to give such screenings. In conclusion, it hardly seems that offenders receive the proper treatment for their illnesses. As it was stated earlier, “we have created a revolving door”. The criminal justice system is fairly new to mental illnesses and what to do about them. Also people can only get the right treatment if they are willing to admit they have
Open Document