The Insanity Defense, "Innocent by Reason of Insanity", Should be Reformed or Abolished

Although the insanity defense is much more successful in movies such as "Taxi Driver" and "Gothika" than in real life, in many criminal cases it is an attempt by a defendant to escape a prison sentence or capital punishment. Most criminals are "usually well aware of the consequences and commit crimes based on the belief that they will not get caught" (Resnick). Some criminals claim insanity as an easy way to escape being formally condemned as responsible for their acts. In addition, with all of recently publicized attempts at innocent by reason of insanity, the differing interpretations of the terms, the disparity in laws between states, the disagreement over testimonies of expert witnesses, the burden on jurors to agree on a verdict, and the high price of treatment in mental institutions, it is time to rethink the issue and either arrive at a national standard or completely abolish the plea of the insanity defense.…