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Quote by: carriew I dont believe in insanity as a get out of jail free card. ok your insane but you still did it. they should be punished as if they were any other person who drowned 5 kids. maybe it will stop the other impluse killings of children by the one person in life who is supposed to protect them. |
One of the most common misconceptions about the courts and criminal justice system - that a successful insanity defense is a "get out of jail free" card. It is nothing of the sort. In fact, most people who use this defense wind up incarcerated in a state mental hospital for
longer than what would have been their jail sentence. There is no determinate sentence with this defense - you are placed in the state's care until the doctors say you are safe for society, which for many people is never.
I used to work for the NYS Attorney General's office, and I helped out with the attorney who did what were called the OMH cases - Office of Mental Health. These were cases where people who were criminally committed were petitioning for their release. The AG represented the state and tried to keep them in confinement. The guy never lost a case.