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              Thanks to celinecelines for permission to use this Photo.

This is a very hot topic within the criminal justice field.  As such, there is a lot of misconception about this defense.  One of the most recent cases that has affected legislation is that of Andrea Yates.

For full trial coverage, you can go here.

What this case did for the state of Texas, known for its TOUGH ON CRIME and zero tolerance for murder, ESPECIALLY of children, was sign into legislation a bill concerning Postpartum Depression. 

For a history of the insanity defense check out this terrific resource.

The major misconception about the insanity defense is that many people believe that just because a defendent has chosen this defense, they are going to get off.  Actually this isn’t the case.  According to the following statistics reported by FOX news in February 2002, the insanity defense works in less than 1% of all cases.

Given the insanity rules of McNaughton, Durham, should this be a defense at all in criminal prosecution?

Betty Ray Mydland
Student
Ashworth Criminal Justice Program

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 1:57 pm and is filed under Crime Scenes, Trials, Witnesses, TV, Intelligence, Lawyers, Violence, Data, Justice, Studies, Abductions, Missing People, Insanity, Legal Rights, Interrogation, Law Practice Mgt., Forensic Psychology, Death Penalty, Government, Criminal Psychology, Special Interest, History, Internet, Prison, Reform, Court System, Law Legends, Crime, True Crime, Homicide, Ethics, Evidence, Famous Cases, Punishment, Laws, Careers, Investigations, Forensic Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.