mental illness (1 Viewer)

[yenta]

Is it just me or is everyone who commits a serious crime these days trying to get off on the grounds of "mental illness"? I think most times if it's proven you had a mental illness you escape punishment. Personally I think this is a load of bullshit. Anyone could pretend they are crazy and go murder someone and get away with it!? I also don't think it's fair that people who have a mental illness get no punishment, they just get sent to a mental hospital. I don't care how fucked up they were, if they do something like murder someone they deserve to go to jail. What are other people's thoughts?

 

[Generator]

The funny thing is is that quite often those people who are mentally ill must commit a serious crime in order to receive the treatment that they need.

OK, maybe it isn't that funny and it's a slight exaggeration, but the Cornelia Rau incident (remember that?) more than illustrated the inadequacies evident within the mental health system.

 

[monique66]

nah, ppl have to get medically examined for that kind thing and then once your convicted you have to get revewed every 3 months by a mental health board to see if your okay. And its not easy to prove mental illness, the burden of proof lies on the defence and not on the prosecution like normal. Also, have you also considered that a greater number of people suffer from mental illness these days (or at least we know more about it)...so yeah...

 

[monique66]

The funny thing is is that quite often those people who are mentally ill must commit a serious crime in order to receive the treatment that they need.

OK, maybe it isn't that funny and it's a slight exaggeration, but the Cornelia Rau incident (remember that?) more than illustrated the inadequacies evident within the mental health system.

Yeah, and i suppose that keeping them in check is betta them wonder the streets

 

[Monkey Butler]

Any of the law students have any stats on how many people are convicted on the grounds of mental illness/get a reduced sentence due to diminished mental capacity?

 

[monique66]

i want to do law...*Sighs*

 

[DaddyK]

hehe, my sisters friend walked down pit street in sydney wearing a matrix style trench coat with a gun in each hand. He was arrested, claimed he had a mental illness and walked scott free.

 

[glycerine]

Is it just me or is everyone who commits a serious crime these days trying to get off on the grounds of "mental illness"? I think most times if it's proven you had a mental illness you escape punishment. Personally I think this is a load of bullshit. Anyone could pretend they are crazy and go murder someone and get away with it!? I also don't think it's fair that people who have a mental illness get no punishment, they just get sent to a mental hospital. I don't care how fucked up they were, if they do something like murder someone they deserve to go to jail. What are other people's thoughts?

ahaha you ever visited a mental hospital? especially some of these state funded ones??

 

[inasero]

damnation is right...you actually have to prove you have a mental illness and there are strict guidelines for these e.g. DSM-IV for depression, MMSE for cognitive function.

The WHO predicts that within this upcoming century depression and other mental illnesses will form the greater majority of the burden of disease in the developed world.

But you could be correct that people are taking advantage of this fact and claiming that for an excuse. A far fetched scenario is that a sadistic psychiatrist could use knowledge of this and subsequently "fake" their illness if worse comes to worse. It makes sense that there must be at least one person who has walked off scot free on the basis of this excuse.

 

[asscookie]

I think it really depends on the nature of the illness. Antisocial personality disorder is listed in the DSM, and it's been estimated that at least 2/3 of the prison population could have it. These people don't deserve to be given any special treatment, because they know exactly what they're doing and they don't feel remorse or guilt. You can only control the problem, not cure it (unlike depression etc).

The only exception to this I believe should be where people <21 years old are involved. Sociopathic personalities can be "corrected" in youth, as it's the social environment that causes people to be like this (it's important to note that not all people with antisocial personality disorder are sociopaths, or psychopaths).

People who were in the midst of a psychotic episode at the time they committed the crime should also be given special consideration - they had no idea what they were doing. Unless it's a drug-induced psychosis.