NCJ Number
92627
Journal
William Mitchell Law Review Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (1982) Pages: 143-182
Date Published
1982
Length
39 pages
Annotation
The insanity defense has become obsolete in Minnesota criminal law. The interests of the community and criminal defendants will effectively and constitutionally be served by abolition of this defense.
Abstract
Abolition of the insanity defense has the advantages of affording greater protection to society, fairer treatment to mentally ill persons, and increased effectiveness in the administration of justice. Excluding a segment of the population from the 'benefits' of the criminal justice system by labeling them 'mentally ill' is a mistake. If a person, while possessing the state of mind requisite to acknowledge his conduct as criminal, commits an act that the law defines as antisocial, that person is blameworthy. While abolition of the insanity defense sounds drastic, it is not. The requirement of proof of criminal intent and the companion doctrine of diminished capacity would adequately divert mentally ill offenders from criminal sanction. Sentencing alternatives are sufficiently flexible and mild to accommodate mentally ill offenders without offending principles of fairness. A total of 211 notes are provided.