Understanding The Insanity Plea

BY REASON OF INSANITY BBC Knowled e All new Louis Theroux episodes Wednesdays 8.30pm from July 15 fetch tv FOXTEL "THE DIFFICULTY OF DEALING WITH THE OUTER EDGES OF MENTAL ILLNESS..." - Louis Theroux PEOPLE WITH MENTAL ILLNESSES AREN'T AUTOMATICALLY VIOLENT. Proper medication can treat symptoms effectively. However, there are some extreme cases when untreated mental illness leads to acts of criminal insanity. THE FIGURES ON VIOLENCE: According to many studies, people with treated mental illness are far MORE LIKELY TO BE VICTIMS of violent crime than to commit a violent crime Those with SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS are 3 or 4 times more likely to be violent Most violence due Those who are to mental illness treated are NO 2.5x occurs when the MORE DANGEROUS illness is than the general times more likely to be attacked, raped, or mugged than those UNTREATED population 90% HAVE NO HISTORY OF VIOLENCE without mental illness MENTAL ILLNESS BY THE NUMBERS: "IT COULD BE THAT THERE ARE AS MANY KINDS OF MENTAL ILLNESS AS THERE ARE PATIENTS." - Louis Theroux Annually, SOME FORM OF MENTAL ILLNESS AFFECTS 1 in 5 adults United States & Australia 1 in 4 adults United Kingdom DEBILITATING MENTAL ILLNESS AFFECTS 1 in 25 adults (US & AU) PERCENTAGES WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA 1.1% of adults in the United States 3% of adults in Australia 1.2% of adults I in the United Kingdom PERCENTAGES WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER 0% 25% AT LEAST ONE MAJOR DEPRESSIVE 5.5% of adults I in the United States SOME FORM OF EPISODE PER YEAR + 5% of adults in Australia. ANXIETY DISORDER PTSD, OCD, Specific Phobia i 6.9% of adults I in the United States 5% of adults in the United Kingdom 18.1% of adults I in the United States ! 4% of adults I in Australia 0% 25% 14% of adults I in Australia 40.7% OF THOSE 2.6% of adults I in the United Kingdom 4.7% of adults I in the United Kingdom EXPERIENCING SUBSTANCE ABUSE ALSO SUFFER FROM 0% 25% MENTAL ILLNESS 0% 25% 10 PERCENT UNDERSTANDING THE INSANITY PLEA 15 17 33 OF THOSE WITH UNTREATED ILLNESS 30 16 12 37 32 9. 28 MENTAL MAY COMMIT A VIOLENT CRIME What is the INSANITY PLEA? The claim that the defendant is not responsi for his or her actions during a mental health episode Defendants who are found to be criminally insane may avoid CONVICTION and INCARCERATION if it is determined that they were unable to distinguish right from wrong Less than 1 in 100 defendants who submit the insanity plea are judged to be criminally insane In the US, there are 51 VARIATIONS TO THE INSANITY PLEA AT THE TIME OF COMMITTING THE CRIME 70% of defendants withdraw their insanity plea once they have been found to be legally sane 5 INFAMOUS INSANITY DEFENSE CASES 1859 - Washington D.C. Daniel Sickles 1981 - Washington D.C. John Hinkley, Jr. US Civil War Union General Became obsessed with actress, Jodi Foster, after watching the movie, Taxi Driver 15 consecutive times NOT GUILTY by reason of temporary insanity ACQUITTED of 13 charges of assault, murder and weapon counts 2009 - Sydney, Australia 1993 - Asburn, Virginia Anthony Waterlow Anthony murdered his father and Lorena Bobbit Lorena was frequently mentally and sexually abused by her husband, John, throughout their marriage sister with a 34cm kitchen knife NOT GUILTY ACQUITTED due to temporary insanity on account of clinical depression by reason of insanity 1978-1991 - Milwaukee Jeffrey Dahmer Serial killer and sex offender from the late 70s to the 90s PLEA REJECTED faced 15 life sentences Daniel Sickles John Hinkley, Jr. Lorena Bobbit Jeffrey Dahmer Anthony Waterlow After trying to gain Jodie's attention in other ways, he decided to assassinate President Ronald Reagan Married Teresa Bagioli when he was 33 and she was 15 After an episode of sexual abuse, Lorena cut off a portion of John's penis He had a lifelong history of social withdrawal, avoidance and odd behavior The murders were committed during a schizophrenic episode Shot Philip Barton Key for having an affair with Teresa Dahmer murdered and mutilated 15 victims before She later called 911 and they were able to recover the penis and reattach it Anthony had long believed that voices in his head were part of a game his family was playing to get him to commit suicide Shot President Reagan in the chest and wounded others Pled insanity due to jealousy over the affair being arrested in 1991 when one of his would-be victims escaped LORENA WAS ACQUITTED DUE TO TEMPORARY INSANITY ON ACCOUNT OF CLINICAL DEPRESSION President Reagan survived and Hinkley pled insanity THE ALL MALE JURY FOUND SICKLES NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF TEMPORARY INSANITY HE WAS ACQUITTED OF 13 CHARGES OF ASSAULT, MURDER AND WEAPON COUNTS After trial he was sent to St. Elizabeth's Hospital for psychiatric care During trial, Dahmer entered the insanity plea His father had tried and failed many times to get the court to place him in a psychiactric facility before the murders took place The public applauded him for murdering the adulterous man She received psychiatric evaluation for 45 days following the trial THE INSANITY PLEA WAS REJECTED AND DAHMER FACED 15 LIFE SENTENCES She has been an advocate for ending domestic violence ever since WATERLOW WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY He remains at the hospital to this day He is currently detained at a forensic hosptial in New South Wales Join the BBC's Louis Theroúx as he immerses himself in the world of the inmates of an Ohio state psychiatric institution, meeting patients who have committed crimes and been found not guilty... BY REASON OF INSANITY BBC Knowled;e and Fetch TV Available on FOXTEL July 15, 8.30pm Sources: http://www.biography.com/people/lorena-bobbitt-235414 http://depts.washington.edu/mhreport/facts_violence.php http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3498200075.html http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/anxietystats.html http://www.biography.com/people/jeffrey-dahmer-9264755 http://www.biography.com/people/john-hinckley-jr-17171774 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/daniel-sickles https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-By-the-Numbers If this article raises any concerns for you, contact Lifeline 131114 http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MurUEJL/1996/4.htmlänote7 http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/mental-health-statistics http://www.propublica.org/article/myth-vs-fact-viólence-and-mental-health http://listverse.com/2012/04/11/top-10-most-notorious-insanity-defense-cases http://www.mindframe-media.info/for-media/reporting-mental-illness/facts-and-stats NOWSOURCING http://www.sane.org/information/factsheets-podcasts/204-facts-and-figures-about-mental-illness http://www.news.com.au/national/changes-to-be-made-to-nsw-mental-health-act-following-nick-and-chloe-waterlow-murders-coroner/story-fncynjr2-1226799133016