Should The Mentally Ill Be Punished For Their Crimes?

Natasha Whittam wrote:

But what if he gets off on a technicality, like the coppers who arrested him forgot to read him his rights for example. It happened to Freddy Kruger and look what happened there.

It's better to just stick a needle in his arm.

He won't get off on a technicality.

I'm opposed to the death penalty in all cases, personally. I think it is murder.

Im opposed to the death penalty too, but for a different reason. I would rather be killed than spend the rest of my life in an isolated room.

The death penalty is the better way out.

Lofty_Love wrote:They should be locked away for the same amount of time, receiving treatment of course, ignorance is not a defence against the law for the rest of us, so why should they get less time because they didn't understand their crime was wrong? If you do the crime, you do the time.

That's not the point. There isn't anyone who would ever say they didn't know murder is wrong. That they think murder is like having a cup of tea. In cases (not this Norwegian one) where people are given a lesser sentence for a murder it is because experts believe they didn't know what they were doing at the time... not that they knew they were committing murder but thought it was OK or didn't know the law (the 'ignorance' you refer to).

Did you see that smug grin he did on the news when they played the video of him setting off that explosion?

I'd lock him in a cell and let a few in mates kick the hell out of the guy or put him in a room with some of the family members he killed and let's see if he has that grin on his face after.

I find myself a little bit desensitised to the concept of people being shot dead because you see it so often in films and on TV, because I've fired guns, and because it's a common way to die in war or to murder someone, particularly in North America.

The two deaths I find disturbing out of the 77 that Norwegian guy killed are the poor kids who died trying to escape. One swam away and drowned and another fell off a cliff running away and was found dead at the bottom with broken bones.

largehat wrote:

That's not the point. There isn't anyone who would ever say they didn't know murder is wrong. That they think murder is like having a cup of tea. In cases (not this Norwegian one) where people are given a lesser sentence for a murder it is because experts believe they didn't know what they were doing at the time... not that they knew they were committing murder but thought it was OK or didn't know the law (the 'ignorance' you refer to).

Im guessing you mean like the guy who killed his wife in his sleep,(I realise he probably wasn't insane but I don't know many cases of this type so this is the closest I can come up with someone committing murder without realising)Yeh I suppose it would be a difficult thing to call if the person didn't realise they had done it, not really sure how that happens but I guess some people are really messed up.

Im not sure about this....

Yeah that kind of thing Lofty and also cases like extreme cases of domestic violence where a woman is driven to madness and just snaps one day and does the bastard in with the bread knife after years of abuse.

largehat wrote:

I'm opposed to the death penalty in all cases, personally. I think it is murder.

You do surprise me. You seem to get off on defending footballers/ponces/murderers.

One day you might get murdered by a professional ponce and you'll regret your stance.

This outcome of this trial warms my heart:

Casey Kearney Killer Jailed

This poor girl was randomly attacked by Hannah Bonser, for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The defence brought up her mental past but the jury laughed it off and found her guilty of murder inside three hours.

This has got to be the future, mental health must not be an excuse for killing someone.

Should The Mentally Ill Be Punished For Their Crimes?


Erm, if someone is deemed incapable of being held responsible for a crime due to diminished mental capacity then of course not. They should be kept where the rest of society are safe from them until a time when someone with the correct medical expertise deems them capable of re-entering society and therefore they aren't a danger any more.
I seem to recall once before I questioned whether you yourself aren't something of a sociapath Tash, you display all of the classic signs. Delusional attention seeking behaviour, a complete apparent lack of empathy coupled with fantasies of self-grandeur.

If ever you appear in court on a charge, you might want to review your opinion on the mentally ill as it might be your best defence.

TheHateCamel wrote:
They should be kept where the rest of society are safe from them until a time when someone with the correct medical expertise deems them capable of re-entering society and therefore they aren't a danger any more.

But this is the crux of my argument, too many people are being deemed harmless only to kill or hurt someone else.

If a mentally ill person kills a random stranger they should not be allowed freedom ever again.