Quote:
Originally Posted by deafdyke
Well jillo, according to the link Reba gave, sociopaths and psychopaths can't use their condition to plead NGRI (Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity)
Psychologically they are off their rockers, but they can't be found legally insane.
Plus, I mean psychopathy isn't a mental illness per se......its more of a severe personality disorder.
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And a personality disorder is a mental illness under DSM criteria.
No, they can't use it to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. However, they can use it to plead guilty but insane, or to be found guilty but insane. The number of cases in which an individual is found not guilty by reason of insanity are extremely rare, and involve only those cases where the mental illness is psychotic in nature and of such a degree that the individual is unable to distinguish right from wrong. One of the most famous cases is that of Billy Milligan, who is also one of the few documented cases of dissociative identity disorder. He was committed to a forensic institute for life.
They can be found to be insane, just not to the degree that a psychotic can be found to be insane.
One can have a mental illness and still be held responsible under the law for their actions, depending upon the actual diagnosis and the specific features of the mental illness. Few mental illnesses interfere with an individual's ability to determine right from wrong. However, that doesn't make the individual any less mentall ill.