The Insanity Plea

Argumentative Essay # 58592

English > Argument
Ethics
Law > Criminal

The Insanity Plea

A discussion on the insanity of the concept of the insanity plea.

1,304 words () | 8 sources | MLA | 2004

Paper Summary:

This paper debates how the insanity plea and its use to obtain verdicts of acquittal for murderers is insane insofar as it allows criminals to escape punishment, reenter society, and possibly kill again.

From the Paper:

"While the chance for murderers to plea insanity if they really are mentally imbalanced appears fair, it is not. This appeal has been used to get many cold hearted murderers acquitted and go free. In being free they have the opportunity to kill again. In this way, the law is saying that the insane can murder without having to pay a price for their action. Allen Brownfield, an editor of the Human Events magazine and a well known author, makes this issue very clear in "Defense Attorneys Mad about Insanity Defense." As Brownfield says, "The growing use of the insanity defense is part of a larger trend in society to eliminate personal responsibility for one's actions." The case of the Menendez brothers proves this."