reply to one of your classmates, discussing how their chosen event can be seen i
ID: 3494176 • Letter: R
Question
reply to one of your classmates, discussing how their chosen event can be seen in the modern applications of the social sciences. How did the historical developments of the social sciences influence its evolution and uses today?
classmates response:
There was a few different things on the timeline that I found interesting. The one I found most interesting took place in 1984. This is when the Insanity Defense Reform Act was passed. I find this interesting because of how it was passed. It was introduced when John Hinckley Jr. plead "insanity" in the attempted assassination of then President Ronald Reagan. He was acquitted of all charges because of this. This act requires proof of an insanity plea to be submitted by the defendant. I feel like this act going into effect has allowed a lot of people to claim "insanity." For example, one of the most known cases that people know about is the Ted Bundy case. He is known for killing many, many women in the United States. His insanity plea did not work, but he still had that opportunity. I feel like anyone who commits a crime these days use the "insanity" plea because of this act that was passed. However, this act being enforced, causes many to change how they study the individuals. Investigators and Psychologists have to make sure they really study the acts and motions of the accused. They have to make sure they can spot the "insanity" claims and be able to spot the truth. Are these people acting? or Are they really insane? Groups and cultures are the same. Everyone looks at them differently. When we hear the word "killer" or "murder" we instantly think of the work "psychotic." However, not all of them are insane. Some of them are actually able to premeditate the murder and that is where the ability to come up with a guilty plea or acquit the accused comes into play.
Explanation / Answer
The Insanity defence act was amended in 1984 and it declared that if the accused was rendered insane, I.e. Unable to decide or notice his acts and the consequences of his acts and that if they are right or wrong,then the accused would not be punished. This came into action after the attempted assassination by John Hinckley Jr. of President Ronald Reagan. The evolution of this law, which finally got implemented in 1984, began as early as the year 1581. The Anglo americans had laws which for many years, considered the mental status of criminals and considered their state for whether or not a criminal should be held responsible for his actions, without his knowledge of what he has actually done. In those years, rather than being termed insanity, they called it as the intention of actions or the ability to distinguish between good or evil. Though, the insanity plea might seam as a new development, but it actually is a transformation or evolution of an earlier version.
"If a madman or a natural fool, or a lunatic in the time of his lunacy do [kill a man], this is no felonious act for they cannot be said to have any understanding will." Was the established belief at that time.
There were tests developed by the British for the same and this test was called the wild beast test, which is the ALI test at present. The British quoted that " If a defendant was so bereft of sanity that he understood the ramifications of his behavior 'no more than in an infant, a brute, or a wild beast,' he would not be held responsible for his crimes.".
This has now become as "at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, ... as the result of a severe mental disease or defect, [they were] unable to appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of [her] acts, they will be exculpated" . A strong criticism for this act came from psychologist Lawrence Freedman and he called this act ineffective.
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