He Murdered His Family — But the Court Says He’s Sane: LFN Asks How That Makes Sense
A person brutally murders his entire family. Psychiatrists evaluate him. The court finds that he understood exactly what he was doing — and sends him to prison rather than a psychiatric institution. But if deliberately committing an unimaginable atrocity does not necessarily make someone legally insane, what exactly does it mean to be “sane”? LFN explores the fascinating divide between legal sanity, mental illness, criminal responsibility and what ordinary people regard as “normal” — and asks whether our criminal justice system needs another way of dealing with the most dangerous offenders. What is your opinion? [Comments Invited]