Exam 3 chapter 10 Flashcards
Andrea Yates
drowned her children; religious delusions; deemed competent; pleaded NGRI, found guilty; second trial b/c of law and order, found guilty
insanity
the criminal’s state of mind at the time the crime was committed. Insanity requires that, due to a mental illness, a defendant lacks moral responsibility and culpability for the crime and therefore should not be punished
o not scientific, but legal
The retribution (or just deserts) perspective
the punishment for a crime should be proportionate to the harm committed
o the deterrence perspective on punishment (specific and general)
offenders should be punished so that they learn that committing a crime leads to punishment (i.e., specific deterrence) and so that other similarly situated individuals will vicariously learn that certain actions lead to punishment (i.e., general deterrence)
mens rea
the guilty mind; awareness of the wrongfulness
actus reus
the criminal act
wild beast test of insasnity
rex v Arnold, jurors told to acquit person who tried to assisnate British lord, found him to be no more than a brute or a wiild beast. The test means that insanity had become less a moral failing and more a cognitive failing
three important cases for NGRI
mcnaughton case, durham case, Hinckley case
mchnaughton case/rule (26 states OH)
- Suffering from defect of reason/disease of mind
- Didn’t know nature and quality of act
- Didn’t know act was wrong
have to prove that defendant suffered from a mental illness that affected ability to understand. policeman at the elbow test
durham standard
released from Navy for mental health reasons, broke into appartment, judge refused to let him plead insanity
reexamined mcnaughton
an accused is not criminally responsible if his unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect”
judges didnt like the new reliance on mental health professionals
ALI standard (brawner rule) (21)
response to the durham standard
person not responsible if at the time of the crime, he couldnt appreciate the wrongfulness or couldnt conform to the law
tried to do both legal and mental health prongs
hinckley case
assisnation attempt on Ronald Reagan. 4 mental health professionals testified he had disturbances (schizophrenia)
first examples of neurolaw testimony
found NGRI
neurolaw testimony
testimony intended to show a link b/t brain abnormalities and an individual’s illegal behavior
o The Insanity Defense Reform Act (IDRA) of 1984
required, in federal courts, that there be a presumption of sanity and that defendants prove “by clear and convincing evidence” that they were insane at the time of the crime.
-volitional prong was dripped, experts were barred from giving testimony
affirmative defense
when a defendant bears the burden of proof for a defense at trial
o even when experts ____ offering a conclusion about whether the defendant was insane, mock jurors ____ remembered that such a conclusion had been offered
1) avoided
2)mistakenly
what states abolished the insanity defense
montana, Utah, Kansas, Idaho
Guilty but mentally ill
permitted in 20 states, guilty of the crime, sentenced to prison, supposed to recieve mental health treatment no guarentee
a mens rea defense
defendant lacks the capacity to possess the mental state required for certain crimes. Must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt
Clark v arizona
stole a car, shot police officer, found sane, thought he was shooting an alien instead of a police officer, didnt take into account mens rea
what standard does the fed government use?
tech. ALI, but more like mcnaughton
