--- JIM DOHERTY <
jimdohertyjr@yahoo.com> wrote:
> The insanity plea doesn't have anything to do
with
> that. Someone who serves a sentence has
already
> been
> found guilty which means either that he didn't
raise
> the issue of his mental health, or that, if he
did,
> the jury decided that his assertion of
insanity
> wasn't
> true. If, having been found guilty, he is
then
> given
> a sentence that is less than he deserves, or if
he
> then escapes the death penalty when it's
appropriate
> that it be imposed, that has nothing to do
with
> whether or not a defendant's mental state can
be
> raised as an affirmative defense.
****************************************
Where we disagree, Jim, is that I gather you think Dennis
Rader, for example, is "sane." I definitely do not. The
so-called "legal" definition of sanity is superfluous to the
kind of crimes people like Rader commit. This is where
superstitious scruples come into play. Such scruples need to
be eliminated. There is no doubt that Rader did commit the
crimes attributed to him. To want to commit that kind of
crime begs the question of sanity. But what of it? Would you
allow a wolf or tiger to wander the neighborhood because they
can't help their natures? We keep wolves and tigers behind
bars so people can look at them without getting hurt. There's
no further need to look at Dennis Rader. He's been poked and
proded and tried and found guilty. He should be executed for
pure expedience. As long as he is alive, he's a danger to
others. If he is ever, under any circumstances, allowed
freedom, it is an insult to the living and the dead.
Patrick King
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