Insanity Defense Isn't all it's Cracked up to be
posted by Silvana
Yesterday's Washington Post had an excellent piece on John W. Hinckley, the man who attempted to assassinate President Reagan.
Hinckley "lives like a kid on perpetual spring break" and "fills his free time strumming on his guitar, crafting pop songs about ideal love, or going on supervised jaunts to the beach or a bowling alley."
Some people might be outraged that someone who attempted to murder the president is living such a jaunty, care-free life. But when I read the piece, all I can think of is how our cultural conception of the "insanity defense" is grossly inaccurate. Although Hinckley's life may seem quite pleasant compared to that of your average felon in state or federal prison, he lacks the certainty of a determinate sentence. In fact, he doesn't have a sentence at all. If you win on an insanity defense, you actually aren't "sentenced," you are committed to a psychiatric facility. This commitment is indefinite. Like thousands of other mentally ill individuals across the country, Hinckley's fate is not up to him, not up to a parole board, but in the hands of a single person: the judge.
If anything, Hinckley demonstrates that "getting off" because you successfully argue insanity can often be worse than taking a plea or getting convicted at trial. Sentencing guidelines vary state by state, but in many states, individuals who are convicted of murder end up serving far less time than the 28 years that Hinckley has thus far been held. In Oregon, for example, the presumptive sentence for murder for someone with the most serious criminal history, "three or more juvenile or adult person felonies," is 225-269 months, or about 22.5 years, at the upper end. In Florida, the average time served for murder is 19.1 years.
Many states have abandoned indeterminate sentencing schemes, where an individual can only be released at the discretion of a parole board, in favor of sentencing individuals to a certain number of months or years. The theory is that this provides more structure and makes rehabilitation more likely.
This may explain why use of the insanity defense is so rare, put forth in less than 1 percent of all cases despite the fact that up to 16 percent of individuals in state prison have a mental illness. Even in the extremely unlikely scenario that the defense is successful, the accused may end up doing more time than if he'd been convicted.
Hinckley "lives like a kid on perpetual spring break" and "fills his free time strumming on his guitar, crafting pop songs about ideal love, or going on supervised jaunts to the beach or a bowling alley."
Some people might be outraged that someone who attempted to murder the president is living such a jaunty, care-free life. But when I read the piece, all I can think of is how our cultural conception of the "insanity defense" is grossly inaccurate. Although Hinckley's life may seem quite pleasant compared to that of your average felon in state or federal prison, he lacks the certainty of a determinate sentence. In fact, he doesn't have a sentence at all. If you win on an insanity defense, you actually aren't "sentenced," you are committed to a psychiatric facility. This commitment is indefinite. Like thousands of other mentally ill individuals across the country, Hinckley's fate is not up to him, not up to a parole board, but in the hands of a single person: the judge.
If anything, Hinckley demonstrates that "getting off" because you successfully argue insanity can often be worse than taking a plea or getting convicted at trial. Sentencing guidelines vary state by state, but in many states, individuals who are convicted of murder end up serving far less time than the 28 years that Hinckley has thus far been held. In Oregon, for example, the presumptive sentence for murder for someone with the most serious criminal history, "three or more juvenile or adult person felonies," is 225-269 months, or about 22.5 years, at the upper end. In Florida, the average time served for murder is 19.1 years.
Many states have abandoned indeterminate sentencing schemes, where an individual can only be released at the discretion of a parole board, in favor of sentencing individuals to a certain number of months or years. The theory is that this provides more structure and makes rehabilitation more likely.
This may explain why use of the insanity defense is so rare, put forth in less than 1 percent of all cases despite the fact that up to 16 percent of individuals in state prison have a mental illness. Even in the extremely unlikely scenario that the defense is successful, the accused may end up doing more time than if he'd been convicted.
Labels: m. leblanc, mental illness, social justice, the law
Posted at 10:00 AM
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