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Originally Posted by obxgal
No I do not think he was mentally ill at all, and I can't go along with the "profiling" that he was mentally ill by the sheriff or law enforcement. The shame of it all is when he goes to trial, that will be his lawyers defense.
I really think that if the death sentence was carried out more often, we would not have all these killings.
I'm not saying "Death" unless it is absolutely positive WITHOUT A DOUBT!!
DNA, eyewitness, finger prints, gun residue .. the whole 9 yards.
Only when the judicial systems gets tough will things change in this country.
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The Insanity defense generically involves usually the defendant proving that he has a mental illness that prevents him from knowing right from wrong, and even if he knows right from wrong, he must have the ability to conform his behavior to the law.
I had a relative who was clearly mentally ill. Do you seriously want to put people to death who are so mentally ill who are insane? I do not.
I used the defense twice when I was a defense attorney and won both times. Both clients where clearly insane. The Courts RARELY find people insane who are not. Both defendants were hospitalized. One was released after years of hospitalization and the other is still hospitalized.
Some say we should find people GUILTY by reason of insanity. That should be inconsequential distinction between Not Guilty by reason of insanity. In both cases the person did the crime but are not PUNISHED because they were insane at the time and they are hospitalized until it is JUDICIALLY determined they MUST be released.
From what I can tell in this case thus far the shooter was mentally ill but not Insane. The facts thus far indicate he knew right from wrong and could have conformed his behavior but did not because he had decided to act against a government official, and she was the one he had access to.
This of course is based on media reports thus far and there is far more information to be found and known.
We need to focus on what really happened and not demand retribution which may feel good but does nothing to prevent such a crime in the future. If someone who saw him a school setting or evaluated him for military fitness recognized his mental illness and were legally required to report it and were legally protected from lawsuit for doing so, this may have never happened. Please think about what really could have been done to prevent this. If he had not bought the gun, he could have stolen or borrowed it like many killers do. We need to do the right thing to stop this insanity, even if it does not satisfy our desire for retribution.
JJ