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Proving and Sentencing Insanity Pleas

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When using the insanity plea, which sentence becomes longer, the prison sentence or a mental institution sentence?
Why is the insanity defense so difficult to prove? What factors must be proven for a person to be deemed legally insane?

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Solution Summary

The solution on the Insanity Defense provides a brief description of the origins of the insanity defense, length of detention, and provisions of proof. Additional links to further the understanding of the insanity defense are also provided. 407 words.

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The insanity defense in the United States is based on an 18th century legal standard established in England. The M'Naghten rule was the first legal test of insanity in which a defendant was successfully acquitted and determined to be incapable of understanding the legal and ethical ramifications of his crime by reason of being insane at the time of his commission of the crime.

Here in the United States the insanity defenses is used in only 1% of the cases and are successfully upheld by the court in 25% in the 1% of the cases, thereby, establishing the difficulty in proving a person as being insane while committing a crime. In the event a defendant deemed to be insane during ...

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