THE M'NAGHTEN RULE and COMMON SENSE

Most people are familiar with the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Sometimes, however, that basic common sense is passed over, someone insists on trying to "fix" what was fine as it stood, and, consequently, makes quite a mess.

The M'Naghten Rule was one such instance-- it should have been left as it was. Instead, the modern American Criminal Justice system took over, changing it as it saw fit; resulting in the present day, when criminals are the only ones receiving anything even remotely connected to "justice," and often far beyond what they deserve.

The original insanity defense was spelled out as: "...the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong."

Throughout the years, states have varied in their own individual interpretations of the insanity defense, to where it bears little resemblance to its original form and its original intent. This includes such concepts as "diminished capacity," which has been upheld, revised, thrown out, and changed; as well as everything imaginable being categorized as "mental defect." In other words, in neglecting the strict criteria for "insanity," the criminal justice system has become too quick to give people easy excuses.

The initial idea was that if a person is not verifiably "insane," he not only is responsible for his actions but should be held accountable for them. Not only has neglecting this destroyed true justice in the criminal justice system, it has also diminished the quality of human life-- for what does it say about a Human Being if he is not responsible for his own actions? And what is the quality of life in American society when too many see the criminal justice system as laughable, in terms of everything they can "get away with"?

There are those who commit serious crimes, including destructive crimes against other people, because they honestly do possess such "disease of the mind" that they do not have the capacity to "appreciate the nature" of their acts. However-- the laxness of today's criminal justice system is backfiring by presenting ready-made excuses to the many who do not fit that category. Instead of those who lack the capacity to understand their actions, there are more and more who fully understand what they are doing, yet believe, often accurately, that they will get away with it.

Perhaps everyone would be better off if the American criminal justice system were to stop allowing sociopaths, who are fully aware of their actions, to claim "defect of reasoning" or "diminished capacity," and, instead, to bear consequences for their actions.