Insanity Defense

I think the insanity defense is a good law, but should have more boudaries and guidelines. I believe every person shouldn't have the right to plead insanity, you should have to meet certain "requirements". If you have a large record of mental illness then you should have the right, it should only be considered in a case if the defendent has a history of insanity. In the Andrea Yates case, I believe she should have been able to plead insanity because she had a large history of mental illness. However, she was a nurse and she decided not to take her medication and this should have been taken into great consideration when determining the outcome of this case. I do not think going to a prison would have benifitted her, or the other inmates. She needs constant observation, she should have been placed in a maximum security psychiatric hospital where she could be treated and watched 24/7. That way she couldn't roam free in society and cause harm, or get the "opinion" that she could kill and because she was seen as mentally insane, get away with it.