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Originally Posted by AOII Angel
Very few people succeed with an insanity defense. Mental illness is not the same as legal insanity either. It is actually possible to be mentally ill and legally sane. They are not the same concept. I'm not a psychiatrist, but many of his rants are delusional with anti-government fixations. This is very suspicious for paranoid schizophrenia. Schizophrenics very rarely are violent, but like normal people, they can be.
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Also, they have to be considered to have a total break from reality during the entire time they plan
and carry out the attacks. Something nearly impossible to prove if planning actually took place. NGRI (Not Guilty for Reasons of Insanity) is also different from being unfit to stand trial. NGRI carries serious consequences with it when serious offenses are involved. Said person will be put in a locked down psych facility for 10-20 years, at least, and will have mandated treatment following release until such time as they're no longer dangerous. I've worked with someone who killed his father because he thought his father was trying to kill him. He was a schizophrenic in a psychotic break. He never broke again since, and his medication has all of his symptoms under control. He is still monitored but you'd never know about his past and he has had to deal with the grief and loss and so has his family. It's not a Get Out Of Jail Free card.
Unfit to stand trial usually means they get treated until they ARE fit and then are required to stand trial as anyone else. They can still try an NGRI affirmative defense.
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Originally Posted by AzTheta
Having evaluated people who suffer from a variety of emotional disturbances and mental illnesses, I will say that their motives are seldom if ever understandable through the filters that most of us use and are comfortable with. Thought disorders are baffling, and paranoia is not something that can be reasoned with. Applying the standard of "fully aware of what one is doing" is challenging, even for the experts.
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Indeed, and frequently an individual who tries to falsely claim NGRI has shown multiple examples of understanding the consequences of their actions throughout the time they were considering or planning the crime. To claim that only when they had the crime did they suffer a break from reality doesn't sell well. There are probably more people who are in prison who were not responsible for their crimes than people who have "gotten off" improperly.
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Originally Posted by Chicago88
I'm glad few people get away with it because I feel that people tend to use it as an easy way out. There's an extremely fine line between any mental disorder. Youre absolutely correct AZTheta, I'm no psychologist, nor am I knowledgeable on these topics. I can only imagine the intricate, complex, and difficult concept to understand.
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This is kind of like how one woman who lies about rape makes 2000 women not get believed. One person gets attention for claiming NGRI and then people think it's all bullshit. It's not an easy out, but public perception makes it that way.
While mental disorders can have fine lines, the line that lets you get away with murder, while it can be blurry it is a very THICK line.