Essay On Criminal Justice

In criminal justice, certain requirements must be met so that the defendant can be held accountable for the crime committed. Mental illness can be a very major reason for committing a crime, and when someone who is mentally unhealthy becomes a criminal the case is much more complex than with an average person. There are many cases where a defendant is deemed mentally unstable and thus are not considered entirely responsible for their actions. In cases where sanity is at question the court must determine a few things for the accused to be held wholly accountable, the defendant must have committed the crime in a clear state of mind, that they were mentally healthy at the time of the crime, that they had intent to carry the crime out, and they

went through with it while knowing what would result from the crime. If all of these conditions are met then the case should continue without much trouble but if they are not met, the defendant can possibly get away with an insanity plea. Certain disorders are important to back up the legitimacy of an insanity plea as it is a very serious matter, if proven not guilty by reason of insanity the defendant gets a completely different punishment, avoiding prison entirely. Many offenders end up getting sent to hospitals or wards instead of prison as result of insanity, such as John Hinckley Jr., and many try to get the same ruling but fail, such as Jeffrey Dahmer. While those who are seriously ill do deserve mental help instead of prison, some offenders could abuse the plea to get an easier sentencing. Because of the fine line in determining the offender's state of mine in many of these gruesome cases, many psychologists and psychiatrists are called in to do tests to determine if the defendant truly was mentally unstable.
Any number of things can drive an individual to commit horrible crimes, regardless of their mental health. While crimes usually aren't because of mental illness, many of the darker ones are linked with different forms of mental instability. Schizophrenia for example is a very high-risk condition and can drive people to do unimaginable things. The most prominent example of schizophrenia regarding violent crimes would be Ed Gein, a serial killer who committed heinous acts and was found to be insane as result. Gein was very disconnected with reality and had an infatuation with making use of those he killed, often making clothing or other home applications with the organs or body parts of his victims. Simply reading about what Ed Gein did is enough to make someone question his sanity, when his actions were paired with his state of mind by professionals, his psychosis was clear. Due to the nature of his crime and how severe it was, his insanity plea and court case didn't come as much of a shock, and in general the worse the crime is the more likely it is that the offender may be insane. "The perception of people with mental illness, particularly schizophrenia, as more violent than the general population is supported by studies from around the world, finding a 2-10-fold increase in risk for violent crime among people with schizophrenia" (Fleischman, Werbeloff, Yoffe, et al., 2014). Those who suffer from schizophrenia are a much bigger risk and must receive diagnosis and treatment early on, or else they may become unhinged. Gein was determined to suffer from chronic schizophrenia, which could very well have been a deciding factor in the crimes he committed. Gein was only ever labeled as schizophrenic many years later so it was never certain just how much of an impact it had on his crimes, however the correlation was undeniable. Regardless of the immediate impact his disorder had on his actions, he was determined to be mentally insane and as result received the appropriate sentencing instead of a prison sentence. While Gein's disorder surely influenced his actions, treatments are available, and those with schizophrenia or similar disorders can seek help before it’s too late.
Certain disorders can cause different outcomes in relation to crime, some are more obvious than others and tend to show up more. One specific disorder which often appears in violent crimes is antisocial personality disorder, or ASPD. This disorder in question can show up in a wide variety of ways and is regarded as a lack of regard for others. ASPD has been noted in many people in high social positions such as in businesses, their ability to manipulate others for personal gain and lack of concern for others aids in climbing the ladder (Palermo, 2014). Seeing as how those with ASPD often pull ahead of others by using them as a stepping stone, it is an especially dangerous disorder when tied in with crime. When considering the qualities of this disorder it makes sense that those afflicted may be more prone to crime than others. Some of the worst offenders in history suffered from ASPD, people such as Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Charles Manson are notorious cases. Those violent offenders with ASPD were different than the typical mental disorder related offender, despite their actions and disorder it seems they were fully aware and even methodical in their murders. Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy were both completely normal people on the outside, even considered smart and charismatic. They used their charisma to manipulate those around them, while committing horrendous crimes in secret. Gacy even went as far as construction to cover up his murders, further proving the caution he took. Both Gacy and Bundy tried for the insanity plea but were denied due to the thought which went into committing and hiding their crimes, which proved their state of mind. Despite the disturbing nature of their crimes they were both found to be sane, as is the case with most criminals who suffer from ASPD. ASPD is very common among those already incarcerated, up to 47% of men and 21% of women in prisons suffer from the disorder (Glenn, Johnson, & Raine, 2013). Considering the percentage of prisoners who suffer from ASPD it seems as though the disorder should be a red-flag and those afflicted should be carefully monitored.
Mental disorders can influence people in all kinds of ways, they can fuel whatever lifestyle the person lives and often reinforce them.

The way the person in question is raised and the quality of their social life will have the most impact on what kind of person the afflicted will end up being, if they are loved and receive proper care they will grow up fine, however if they are neglected or grow up in hard conditions they may go down a life of crime. Those with certain disorders, especially ASPD should receive special attention from a very early age and must be diagnosed properly to make sure they are not stunted. Most of these disorders can be combated with proper care and need to be treated seriously. I believe in the future we will have better methods of finding these disorders in people and being able to combat them efficiently, now all we can do is hope that the parents or someone related to the person notices something is wrong and reports it. Far too often children grow up never knowing they have a problem until it’s too late, we do not place a high enough emphasis on the severity and reality of the issue. I chose this topic because I am majoring in criminology, and psychology has always interested me as a concept on the side. This topic was a good chance to combine criminology and psychology with another thing that has interested me, the minds of serial killers, and helped me learn more about how disorders might increase a person’s tendency for

crime