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?Not Guilty By Means of Insanity? When the insanity plea is granted, the criminal may be relieved of criminal responsibility by virtue of mental disease. The net result of such a determination places an individual accordingly, be it placement in a mental facility, incarceration, or outright release. There are several problems raised by the insanity defense. Some of these problems include the actual possibility of determining mental illness, justifiable placement of judged “mentally ill” offenders, …

…those w/. -unjust imprisonment (released when judged well) -psychotropic drugs (insane appear and behave sane) Difficult to Evaluate the insane -doctor’s error (fooled by patient) -physical vs. mental diagnosis (brain scans) difficult to assess disorders and their degree. -mistaken diagnosis (many defendants can fake insanity) advantages -diagnosis based on opinion Confusing Evidence -Conflicting views on medical and psychological issues -opposite conclusions in same manner -how can non-medicals (jurors) decide? Fairness -psychiatrists are hired (biased)