A mental health defense, or the insanity defense, is not a get out of jail free card. A lot goes in to a defense to prove insanity and in the end the sentences are not a walk in the park. Many times a defendant is found guilty but get a less serious sentence due to a mental impairment. Other times a defendant may be found not guilty due to reasons of insanity. But in these cases, the defendants are still usually ordered to stay at a mental health facility, to complete treatments and to face other consequences. It also takes a lot of investigating to determine if the defendant was in fact mentally impaired at the time of the crime. The following article will explain what goes in to making a mental health defense.
How Courts Test for Legal Insanity
In order to prove that a defendant was mentally impaired at the time they committed a crime, you must be able to prove at least one of the following:
- The “M’Naghten Rule” – Defendant either did not understand what he or she did, or failed to distinguish right from wrong, because of a “disease of mind.”
- The “Irresistible Impulse” Test – As a result of a mental disease, defendant was unable to control his impulses, which led to a criminal act.
- The “Durham Rule” – Regardless of clinical diagnosis, defendant’s “mental defect” resulted in a criminal act.
- The “Model Penal Code” Test for Legal Insanity – Because of a diagnosed mental defect, defendant either failed to understand the criminality of his acts, or was unable to act within the confines of the law.
The defendant is typically tested by medical professionals and psychiatrists who can testify to their mental capabilities. Although, the insanity defense is not commonly used as a defense because it doesn’t get the defendant out scot-free.
