Topic > Insanity Defense Essay - 1159

For example, the main framework of the insanity defense was created in 1843 when we had very little understanding of mental illnesses as opposed to what we know now. The legislation for this defense needs to be updated by Parliament to better reflect everything we know about this area in the modern era. Another problem is that the insanity defense necessarily applies only to “insane.” Illnesses such as diabetes and sleepwalking are obviously not conditions that amount to insanity and therefore should not be included in the insanity defense. Finally, the insanity defense often relies too heavily on the jury's discretion in deciding whether or not they are telling the truth. The jury generally has no medical knowledge in the field of mental illnesses, so it may be considered unfair that it is forced to judge mental illnesses instead of specially trained doctors. This is shown in Oye (2013) if a jury found the defendant guilty despite clear medical evidence showing his mental state