grg (06/25/82)
This short note discusses logic, not legality, and not the lack of correlation thereof. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The recent note on "pleaded insanity" raises a question of the relevancy of such a "defense". Sanity means: soundness of mind, soundness of judgement. To plead insanity means "I made a bad judgement". Isn't this already determined by the un-lawfullness of the act? The responsibility of an individual is to maintain sanity, and if not take the consequences of the efects of his activities. Anything else permits and condones errors, and the creation of conditions that create them. Many things deplete sanity; tiredness, diet, drugs, food, emotion, physiological damage, stress, ... Many common actions are insane. But when they exceede the legal limit of insanity I do not see this as a defense, merely a fact. Determinations of proper treatment for various causes of insanity is a different (although related) issue. Greg Guthrie Bell Labs Naperville, Ill (312)979-7303
djj (06/25/82)
I always thought the plea of insanity meant "I was not in control of my mental functioning at the time in question and I DID NOT KNOW(!!) whether my judgement was bad. Many simple analyses of legal cases indicate the sanity/insanity decision as one of differentiation of right and wrong. In the Hinckley case, this seems to translate into John saying "At the time I shot Reagan, I could not decide if it was right or wrong." Replies????? Dave Johnson BTL - Piscataway
soreff@sri-unix (07/01/82)
Greg Guthrie claims that insanity is equivalent to making "a bad judgement" which is implied "by the un-lawfullness of the act". There are many scenarios where commiting an illegal act is a good judgement. 1: Where the person believes the benefits of acting exceed the costs that the legal system will impose on them. 2: Where the person believes that the benefits of acting exceed the costs that the legal system will impose on them weighted by the detection and conviction probabilities. Greg Guthrie also claims that "The responsibility of the individual is to maintain sanity...". This seems far too sweeping a statement to me. A few years ago Army Intelligence or the CIA (I forget which) fed LSD to some unsuspecting people. I would NOT hold the subjects of those experiments responsible for their actions while under the influence of the unknowingly ingested drugs. According to Guthrie's statements, he would hold them responsible. -Jeffrey Soreff