A bit about the legal system... (part 1)

So the Casey Anthony trial is going on. Heard of it? Haha. It seems like everyone and their mother is following this thing! I’m not, but that doesn’t stop me from having some definite opinions on what I’m hearing coming out of it.

The Elizabeth Smart trial just wrapped up. It didn’t seem to be followed quite so much but I think it’s an important one. Ms. Smart was unbelievably brave in facing her attackers in court on a very public stage. I was glad to see them brought to justice.

Both of these trials have brought up some major issues in my mind. The biggest of which is the idea of being not guilty due to insanity. Wtf? I mean come on…you kidnap a young child, hold her captive in the woods and rape her repeatedly…how could you be anything BUT insane??!! Same with killing a child (disclaimer, I know nothing about the Casey Anthony trial and at this point don’t want to. Just sayin.). Or killing an adult for that matter! SANE PEOPLE DON’T KILL PEOPLE! Period. End of story. Yes there’s accidents and self defense, but go with me here. If you find a need to kill or seriously harm someone, I don’t see how you can be in your right mind.

I remember watching the news coverage for the Smart trial. The reporter listed all of the horrible things that Smart’s attacker was known to have done to her. Then she followed it up with, “But the big question now is, is he insane?”

I screamed at the TV, “YES! Of course he’s insane! He’s sick and twisted and evil and insane and needs to be locked away forever!!” Then I listened to more of the coverage and realized that Elizabeth Smart and her lawyers were having to argue that Brian David Mitchell, her attacker, was not insane in order to get him put in prison. How’s that for a paradox? Looking at your rapist and not only saying but having to convince others that yes, he’s in his right mind.

I understand that the legal definition of insanity is different from what I am using here. I still don’t think it matters. If you’re interested, here’s the legal definition: http://www.lectlaw.com/def/d029.htm

I stand by my original statement. Sane people don’t kill people. Sane people don’t sexually abuse people. Can a person who does these things really, truly know right from wrong? They know it’s wrong in the sense that they hide it, but if they understood how completely and utterly wrong it is, how could they do it? Maybe they are just that evil. It’s possible, but I don’t buy it. I don’t believe that anyone is born evil, so something, somewhere along the line must’ve twisted their thinking. I don’t believe AT ALL that that should excuse ANY PART of what they did but for whatever reason I do believe they’re insane.