| Papers [1-14] of 100 :: [Page 1 of 8] | | Go to page : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 —> | Search results on "INSANITY PLEA": |
|
|
The Insanity Plea, 2004.
An overview of the insanity plea and its purpose in the criminal justice system.
1,182 words (approx. 4.7 pages), 6 sources, MLA, £ 28.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
In the worlds of criminal justice and psychology, the insanity plea is a controversial subject, and some experts believe that it can be abused and allow criminals to get away with committing horrific crimes. Others contend that the insanity plea is necessary to protect the mentally unstable. This paper provides a discussion on the insanity plea, how it works in the criminal justice system, and how it relates to psychology.
From the Paper
"The book goes on to assert that the insanity plea is so controversial because of the very nature of insanity. The author explains that because mental stability is wide ranging it is difficult to determine what type of mental incapacity is defined as insanity. For this reason, when there is a plea of insanity jurors must decide the defendants fate based on whether they were ?'so irrational as to be nonresponsible?. (MacKay 1995) In other words ?the moral basis of the insanity defence, states that the crucial issue 'is whether in some cases extreme craziness (involved in the defendant's offensive conduct) so compromises the defendant's rationality or creates such compulsion that it would be unjust to hold the defendant responsible.? "
| |
|
The Insanity Plea, 2004.
A discussion on the insanity of the concept of the insanity plea.
1,304 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 8 sources, MLA, £ 31.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper debates how the insanity plea and its use to obtain verdicts of acquittal for murderers is insane insofar as it allows criminals to escape punishment, reenter society, and possibly kill again.
From the Paper
"While the chance for murderers to plea insanity if they really are mentally imbalanced appears fair, it is not. This appeal has been used to get many cold hearted murderers acquitted and go free. In being free they have the opportunity to kill again. In this way, the law is saying that the insane can murder without having to pay a price for their action. Allen Brownfield, an editor of the Human Events magazine and a well known author, makes this issue very clear in "Defense Attorneys Mad about Insanity Defense." As Brownfield says, "The growing use of the insanity defense is part of a larger trend in society to eliminate personal responsibility for one's actions." The case of the Menendez brothers proves this."
| |
|
The Insanity Plea in American Law, 2008.
A case study analysis of the use of the insanity plea in the trial of Andrea Yates.
861 words (approx. 3.4 pages), 6 sources, APA, £ 21.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper discusses the insanity defense in American law. The paper explains that, in order to be morally culpable, a person must have awareness of the moral value of their actions. The paper then focuses on the case of Andrea Yates who killed all five of her children. It discusses her plea of insanity and describes how it was viewed and put into play during her trial.
From the Paper
"The issue of responsibility was a key issue in the first trial with her husband blaming the psychiatrists, and the psychiatrists blaming the husband. This blame game seemed to play into the hands of the insanity defense. The husband, Russell Yates, was told that if Andrea Yates had more children it would cause her to have a psychotic episode, but this warning was not followed and Andrea had another child, her fifth (8). But the husband claimed that the psychiatrists should have been better able to keep her condition from going out of control, and that they should have kept her on the medication that he thought would work."
| |
|
The Insanity Plea, 2005.
A discussion on the danger of using the insanity plea.
1,957 words (approx. 7.8 pages), 8 sources, MLA, £ 44.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper contends that people should be held responsible for any crime of murder they commit, except in self-defense, regardless of whether or not they are insane. It also argues that those who are acquitted on the basis of insanity should still receive a the requisite prison sentence, which they would serve in a mental institution under treatment with no chance of release until they have served the full term and are determined to have been cured.
From the Paper
"Both the law and psychology recognize the mental condition of insanity and define it. According to its psychological definition, insanity refers to a condition in which people take action on the basis of "irresistible impulse" (Fass). In other words, insane people do not have the ability to control themselves and act an understanding of the consequences of their actions or their significance. Thus, a person guilty of murder but who makes an insanity plea is actually saying that he murdered either because he did not understand what he was doing, or could not control his desire to murder. The legal definition for insanity agrees with the psychological one."
| |
|
Insane or Not Insane - That is the Question, 2002.
An examination into the question of whether Shakespeare's Hamlet was insane or not.
1,585 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 6 sources, MLA, £ 36.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
A thorough analysis of whether the character of Hamlet can be considered to be sane or insane. The paper looks at several examples and scenes of the play in order to examine this question and concludes that Hamlet was not insane, but it was simply a cover-up to confuse his enemies.
From the Paper
"In both theatrical and academic circles alike a common topic of conversation is whether or not the character of Hamlet in William Shakespeare?s masterpiece is insane or simply feigning insanity. Throughout the years since this play was first produced many theatre artists have made the strong choice to define Hamlet as insane. This choice is decidedly wrong. Hamlet is not insane. The Danish Prince is merely pretending such so that he might understand the deception revolving around him more clearly while developing a strategy of revenge."
| |
|
Insanity Defense, 1997.
Argues for end to insanity plea. Looking at legal & psychological issues, including examples (John Hinkley Jr., David Berkowitz).
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 4 sources, £ 33.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
From the Paper
"The insanity defense has been a controversial legal tactic for centuries. The centuries-old idea that mentally ill criminals should not be held responsible for their actions has infuriated observers of American law. Those who seek a get-tough approach to crime see the insanity defense as legal fakery, one more tactic in a defender's bag of tricks.
Jeffrey Dahmer, John Hinkley, Jr., David Berkowitz, and Jack Ruby, among many others, will forever be linked in the public mind by their courtroom use of the insanity defense as much as by their infamous deeds. In his The Insanity Plea: The Uses and Abuses of the Insanity Defense, Winslade adds the following high-profile criminals to the roster of those who have attempted to use such a defense: Dan White, Prosenjit Poddar, Leonard Smith, Tex Watson, Robert Torsney, and James Grigson."
| |
|
Insanity in "Macbeth", 2004.
An analysis of the themes of insanity and madness in William Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
1,405 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 1 source, MLA, £ 32.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper examines how insanity is a predominant element in William Shakespeare's play, "Macbeth". It discusses how insanity, or madness, is represented on three different levels through Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff, and how each character illustrates varying degrees of insanity and the possible solutions for dealing with it. It looks at how Shakespeare uses insanity in the play to heighten tension, as well as to convey a dark and sinister mood, and how, by gradually leading up to the insanity of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, we are able to witness its devastating effects. It examines how insanity develops in the play and serves as a dramatic function to reinforce the theme of "evil begets evil".
From the Paper
"Lady Macbeth begins to exhibit signs of madness with her strange trances. Her insanity is more significant than Macbeth?s insanity because of her state of mind in the beginning of the play. By making Lady Macbeth?s character despicable, her madness seems more fitting. In other words, she gets what she deserves. This is not to make light of Macbeth?s actions, for he certainly deserves what he has coming to him as well. However, with Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare is more able to reinforce the theme that evil begets evil. Shakespeare delivers this message with unforgettable irony."
| |
|
Two Views of the Insanity Defense, 1982.
This paper presents pro and con views of allowing the insanity defense in the criminal justice system and concludes with the argument favoring the continued use of the insanity defense.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 2 sources, £ 27.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
From the Paper
"Alan Stone in Chapter 17, begins his discussion of the insanity defense by defining the basic nature of the law, and the basic nature of psychiatry. He argues that the law is formal, rigid, traditional, objective and judgmental; psychiatry is flighty, expansive, unconventional, subjective, and understanding. There seems to be little room for common ground. Stone intimates, that what the law wanted from psychiatric investigation, was rock-bound methodology that explained aberrant behavior. During the 1950s the Durham decision further cemented the relationship between the two disciplines. The California Supreme Court seemed more willing to be lead by psychiatric reasoning, giving more credence to the insanity plea, and bring the concept of diminished capacity to the fore."
| |
|
Insanity in Literature, 2007.
A comparison of the role of insanity in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Henry James' "Turn of the Screw" and Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead".
1,344 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 3 sources, MLA, £ 32.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper analyzes the role that insanity plays in literature. It focuses on and compares the role of insanity in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet", Henry James' "Turn of the Screw", and Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead." It shows how, in the three works, the nature of insanity differs. The paper also discusses the important role that insanity plays in the plot and power of each of the plays and book.
From the Paper
"The decay of rationality into madness has allured writers for centuries. The nature of insanity teaches and explains the nature of sanity. William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Henry James' Turn of the Screw, and Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead investigate ambiguous insanity. In these compositions, the characters in question (Hamlet; the governess; and Ros and Guil, respectively) can provide ample evidence for their sanity and a logical, if not always honorable, justification for their insanity. Hamlet's unbridled rowdiness is necessary for him to stay unharmed and plotting in the court. His sanity can be proved by the stark rationality in his eccentric schemes. Though he acts in "madness...there is method in't" (II, ii, 211). James' governess has seen ghosts with her heretofore trustworthy eyes and nothing, but the laws of physics, directly disproves the governess' tales of evil afoot or denigrates her heroic attempts at exorcism. Ros and Guil try valiantly, despite their comic failures, to find reason in their fairy tale world of inescapable fates and impossibly prescient walking Gods. Ros and Guil are actually saner than their Lewis Carroll reality. However, these possibilities of sanity are like the tails side of Guil's coin: about as probable as their counterpart, but not as enlightening or interesting. If authors' intentions are assumed to include insane characters, the causes of insanity and the purposes for afflicting characters with insanity become more evident."
| |
|
Insanity Defense, 2002.
Discusses the legal concept of insanity.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 2 sources, £ 16.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
Discusses the legal concept of insanity. Aspects of premeditation and calculation in comitting murder. Uses two specific examples to illustrate the general discussion: one literary & one actual case. Edgar Allan Poe's 1846 story "A Cask of Amontillado" and an 1843 English murder trial that raised the question of criminal insanity and established the modern legal insanity test (McNaughton rule).
From the Paper
"Insanity is a term often used as if it had a medical meaning, but in truth, insanity is a legal concept. Under this concept, Montresor in Edgar Allan Poe's story "A Cask of Amontillado" would certainly be classified as mentally unbalanced but would also be deemed sane under the law. This is because while the actions he takes might be considered insane by many people, he does them knowing that what he is doing is wrong.
In the Poe story, the tale is told by Montresor, who will also be the murderer, and the reader experiences his madness directly because he tells his own story. The horror story by Poe gains power by having the protagonist tell the story. This is a story that features a theme repeated in several Poe stories, that of being buried alive, and here the victim is..."
| |
|
Theme of Insanity in Hamlet, 2006.
This paper discusses the theme of insanity in the character Hamlet in the tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 3 sources, £ 18.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
In this paper, the writer demonstrates that Hamlet has ultimately realized true insanity, as he has acted out his madness in a disguise that has failed on a large scale. The writer discusses that in this manner, the critical views of Grady offer greater insight into a psychological case for insanity for Hamlet in the play. The writer also shows that critic Harold Bloom does show a variety of behaviors that might present Hamlet's insanity as a disguise.
From the Paper
"This study reveals critical theory and interpretation that often revolves the character Hamlet in William Shakespeare's play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. By assessing modern critical theory on Hamlet's character, one can understand that many critics agree on Hamlet's insanity within the play, and how this links to his own tragic fate in the play. By offering different theoretical analysis of this aspect of Hamlet's character, we can understand why psychology--via madness and insanity--are how twentieth century critics view Shakespeare's portrayal of Hamlet in critical perspectives. In the first appearance of the Ghost (Hamlet's dead father) in the beginning of the play, reveal the first delusional image that Hamlet receives."
| |
|
Hamlet's Insanity, 2006.
This paper examines Hamlet's murder and the defense of his insanity.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 3 sources, £ 37.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper discusses how the crime of murder was committed in the State of Denmark by Hamlet, the Prince. The murder was committed during an argument with his mother Gertrude following Hamlet's realization that someone was hiding behind a curtain in his mother bedroom. The paper explains that although Hamlet is a Prince, it has been contended by Claudius and Laertes that Hamlet be held accountable for his actions. The paper explains that further information in this case provides evidence that Hamlet is known to have been considered insane with the insanity arising after the murder of his father.
| |
|
Yates and the Insanity Defense, 2005.
evaluates the case of Andrea Yates and whether it calls for an insanity defense.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 4 sources, MLA, £ 22.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper evaluates the case of Andrea Yates and whether it meets the standards of the insanity defense under Texas law. The paper theoretically applies the insanity defense to various standards.
From the Paper
"Under the current Texas law it is highly unlikely that Andrea Yates would meet the requirements for an insanity plea. The facts of the case show that Andrea Yates was mentally ill during the period of and leading up to her commission of the murders. It was also shown that the mental illness severely impaired her judgment and perceptions of reality. However Yates' state of mind during the commission of the crime still does not fall under the narrow parameters the ..."
| |
|
Insanity in 'Hamlet' and 'Macbeth', 2005.
This paper discusses the theme of insanity as demonstrated in the plays "Hamlet" and "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 5 sources, £ 50.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper describes the evidence for Hamlet's and Lady Macbeth's insanity in the plays "Hamlet" and "Macbeth." Definitions of insanity from a psychological perspective are provided in this essay. Both plays are summarized with extensive quotes and examples of each character's behavior that would lead to the diagnosis of some form of psychosis, including murder and suicide.
From the Paper
"William Shakespeare used the theme of insanity in many of his plays, and two of the most famous are 'Hamlet' and 'Macbeth'. The theme of insanity in both of these plays is illustrated through several characters. Through the course of this paper it will be shown that in these plays, the characters Lady Macbeth and Prince Hamlet are insane. This paper will discuss the nature of insanity, the role of insanity in both Hamlet and Macbeth, and controversy over the questions of insanity raised by both of these plays. While Hamlet and Lady Macbeth's complimentary characters Ophelia and Macbeth exhibit obvious signs of increasing insanity, it can be argued that both Hamlet and Lady Macbeth are mentally unstable from the beginning of their respective plays."
|
|
|
