thePITman;1409304 wrote: But if I kill people, I can plead "insanity" and say that I didn't understand right from wrong; and even though I broke the law, I didn't KNOW I was breaking the law, and should be found innocent. Is that how it works?
No. You plead not guilty by insanity and the burden of proof lies on the defense to prove to the jury that the defendant's mental state is so distorted/morphed that he likely has no idea what law's he's broken are wrong.
Never the less, your speeding analogy is not incredibly strong. "Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law" does not apply to an insane person, since they have no idea what the line is between ignorance/good/bad/etc. He still broke the law, I agree, but in an insane persons mind he has no idea what law is. There's no "what if" in an insane persons mind, just "do".
In almost 99% of cases (and this one) the insanity defense gets tossed. It's far too difficult on the defense to prove that he was insane. Even if the defense held up, he'd just get tossed in a psych ward for the remainder of his life or until he is deemed "rehabilitated".
Point I'm trying to prove, is that he falls into a gray area between legit insane people, and your normal average joe in the clink for shooting a drug dealer. He doesn't give a shit what he did was wrong, he doesn't care if he lives the rest of his life in jail, or gets tied to the electric chair. In cases like that, what difference does it make what you do with him? This brings me to my previous point: from an economic standpoint, just execute him and leave his space in jail for another drug dealer/gangbanger.
Everyone pissing and moaning about "OH MAN HE SHOULD'VE GOTTEN THE DEATH PENALTY" is just a waste of time. The law is the law. He was a minor when the offense occurred, so he can't get the death penalty. So instead, he got the maximum sentence he was entitled to.
It is what it is.
Dr Winston O'Boogie;1409339 wrote:The sad thing about a crime like this is that there will never be closure for the families...their loved ones will never be back. Nothing could be done to this guy that makes them whole. That's what makes a crime like this the worst possible thing.
I absolutely agree. I had typed up something to the effect of this, but you summed it up nicely for me.
