Insanity And The Eighth Amendment

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Insanity And The Eighth Amendment
Our constitution lays out certain rights and privileges that are to protect the citizens of our nation. Over the years, the Supreme Court has handed down rulings on specific cases that determine how our constitution is read and adhered too. Many times, there are people on both sides of the issue at hand. One such issue for me is the problem with Criminal Insanity. People who argue, and receive a “Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity”, (NGRI), are often shipped away to a mental facility to spend long sentences. To me, this is a violation of ones Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment of the constitution states that persons are protected from cruel and unusual punishment from the government. This means that you cannot be put to death simply from stealing a piece of bubble gum. It was intended to balance the sentences to match the severity of the crime for which a person is being tried. Over the years, as our society has changed, the notion of what is just and fair for a particular crime has changed. Most of this is shown in how the Supreme Court rules on cases that come before it.
Insanity Plea
The insanity defense is a possible defense by excuse, which a defendant may argue that they should not be held criminally liable for breaking the law, as they were mentally ill or mentally incompetent at the time of their allegedly "criminal" actions. This defense is based on a principle that punishment is only reasonable if the defendant is capable of both controlling their behavior and understanding that they have committed a "wrongful act". It is argued that if someone is suffering from a mental disorder so that they are not capable of knowing or choosing right from wrong, they should not be punished. A defendant making this argument might be said to be pleading "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity" (NGRI). In 1982, the American Psych...