Civil Commitment and the Mentally Ill

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It is very hard to differentiate an ordinary mental health from a mental illness because there is no easy way of knowing unless you test them. Also, some mental health illnesses can be imitated by physical disorders. Mental health illnesses are ruled on any physical disorder, they are diagnosed and treated from the signs and symptoms, and also on how much the illness affects your everyday life ("Mental health: What's normal, what's not - Mayo Clinic", n.d.). Civil commitment laws have been around in the United States ever since the 1800s. Civil commitment cases mostly consist of family members of a mentally ill person who will try to commit the person in order to guarantee that they get help. The court system does not always care for civil commitment if the person is not showing direct danger or threats to them self or to others around them ("Civil Commitment of the Mentally Ill", n.d). In this paper we will talk about the insanity statutes being used in the state of Georgia and how often the insanity defense is being used, and the major criticisms of the insanity defense. For many years the public has fought with the idea that a mentally ill person should not be held accountable for criminal crimes (Allnutt, S., Samuels, A., & O'Driscoll, C. 2007). In states Montana, Idaho, and Utah, does not consent for the defendant to plea an insanity defense. The defendants must be capable to stand trial, but they do have the right to present evidence of a mental disease as evidence that they did not have the required intent ("A Crime Of Insanity - Insanity On Trial | FRONTLINE | PBS", n.d.). The state of Georgia uses a reformed style of the M'Naghten Rule ("The Insanity Defense Among the States - FindLaw", n.d.). Daniel M’Naghten was an Eng... ... middle of paper ... ...2011). Wrightsman's psychology and the legal system. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. HRW: Ill Equipped: U.S. Prisons and Offenders with Mental Illness: VII. DIFFICULTIES MENTALLY ILL PRISONERS FACE COPING IN PRISON. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/usa1003/7.htm The Insanity Defense Among the States - FindLaw. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/the-insanity-defense-among-the-states.html Mental health: What's normal, what's not - Mayo Clinic. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/mental-health/art-20044098 Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the 21st century. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall. United States Insanity Defense Law Summary and Law Digest. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/criminal-laws/insanity-defense/7204

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