Comments on: The Insanity Defense and the Limits of Legal Reason http://jonathanturley.org/2008/03/17/the-insanity-defense-and-the-limits-of-legal-reason/ Res ipsa loquitur ("The thing itself speaks") Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:22:19 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Inmate Pulls Out Only Good Eye and Eats It: State Insists He Is Perfectly Sane Under Texas Standards « JONATHAN TURLEY http://jonathanturley.org/2008/03/17/the-insanity-defense-and-the-limits-of-legal-reason/#comment-34183 Inmate Pulls Out Only Good Eye and Eats It: State Insists He Is Perfectly Sane Under Texas Standards « JONATHAN TURLEY Sat, 10 Jan 2009 12:33:58 +0000 http://jonathanturley.wordpress.com/?p=1276#comment-34183 [...] manifest insanity as a defense as in the case of Andrea Yates. It is not alone in this position, here, but it is certainly the most [...] [...] manifest insanity as a defense as in the case of Andrea Yates. It is not alone in this position, here, but it is certainly the most [...]

]]> By: Kristin Park http://jonathanturley.org/2008/03/17/the-insanity-defense-and-the-limits-of-legal-reason/#comment-8632 Kristin Park Mon, 17 Mar 2008 19:50:56 +0000 http://jonathanturley.wordpress.com/?p=1276#comment-8632 Kudos to you for this very insightful post! The Yates case was an especially gripping one for me personally because I was a PPD survivor and gave birth to my fourth baby on June 18, 2001, just a couple of days before Andrea Yates killed her children. Having barely survived PPD with my third baby, and knowing the statistics of having it reoccur, I was very nervous that I would experience it again. Being bombarded with the Yates' case on the news didn't help my nerves to say the least... Anyway, during that time, I was furious at the ignorance of the media on the subject of postpartum psychosis, or rather postpartum insanity. Every reporter who commented or wrote on the story said she had postpartum depression, which is a completely different disorder from postpartum psychosis. I felt that this ignorance seeped its way into the TX court system. No one seemed to understand the psychosis that she had to have experienced to have done what she did. You're absolutely correct -- hers should have been an easy case for insanity. Insanely easy. Kudos to you for this very insightful post! The Yates case was an especially gripping one for me personally because I was a PPD survivor and gave birth to my fourth baby on June 18, 2001, just a couple of days before Andrea Yates killed her children. Having barely survived PPD with my third baby, and knowing the statistics of having it reoccur, I was very nervous that I would experience it again. Being bombarded with the Yates’ case on the news didn’t help my nerves to say the least…
Anyway, during that time, I was furious at the ignorance of the media on the subject of postpartum psychosis, or rather postpartum insanity. Every reporter who commented or wrote on the story said she had postpartum depression, which is a completely different disorder from postpartum psychosis. I felt that this ignorance seeped its way into the TX court system. No one seemed to understand the psychosis that she had to have experienced to have done what she did. You’re absolutely correct — hers should have been an easy case for insanity. Insanely easy.

]]> By: Susan http://jonathanturley.org/2008/03/17/the-insanity-defense-and-the-limits-of-legal-reason/#comment-8606 Susan Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:59:00 +0000 http://jonathanturley.wordpress.com/?p=1276#comment-8606 I've noticed that some states, like TX and VA to name just two, are all about exacting punishment, and couldn't care less about the REASONS why crimes occur. Or if the person committing the crime(s) was truly insane at the time. Or, in cases of wrongful convictions, do a completete investigation before any arrests were made to determine: 1. whether a crime was in fact committed at all, and 2. if there was a crime committed, whether or not they had the RIGHT person. From what I have read about the attitudes of some in law enforcement, there are two groups of people; the humanitarians and the punishers. TX and VA at least appear to be largely dominated by the punishers, and this story is just one more illustration of that grim reality. I’ve noticed that some states, like TX and VA to name just two, are all about exacting punishment, and couldn’t care less about the REASONS why crimes occur. Or if the person committing the crime(s) was truly insane at the time. Or, in cases of wrongful convictions, do a completete investigation before any arrests were made to determine: 1. whether a crime was in fact committed at all, and 2. if there was a crime committed, whether or not they had the RIGHT person.

From what I have read about the attitudes of some in law enforcement, there are two groups of people; the humanitarians and the punishers. TX and VA at least appear to be largely dominated by the punishers, and this story is just one more illustration of that grim reality.

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