The death penalty is the most severe punishment awarded to an individual who has abruptly ended the life of another human being. Recently five innocent children died at the hands of a mother who was declared mentally unstable. Andrea Yates was not in control of her own actions when she took t...

Karl Menninger, one of America's most distinguished psychiatrists, developed a system to effectively categorize and analyze the various mental states of the human mind. Menninger's Theory of Dysorganization reveals that there are different levels of deviation in terms of mental awareness ...

Insanity, is it a game that criminals can play to get out of a death sentence, or is it actually a disease that effects certain people? Insanity has been a subject of debate for many years. The majority of people in the United States feel that there is just to great of a chance for someone to prete...

Andrea Yates and the Insanity Defense On June 20th, 2001, Andrea Yates, a 36-year-old mother of five, drowned all five of her children one at a time in the bathroom tub. She then calmly called 911 and then her husband telling him "It's time. I finally did it." When she was inter...

Why They Kill .The dust cleared, the heroin once again emerged victorious. Steel, with little help from his faithful sidekicks brought two known felons to justice. It was just for those who believe in the saying an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. The case looked to be wrapped up, or was i...

Multiple Personality Disorders By Philip Ausherman Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) or Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) was first recognized in the 1700's but was not understood so therefore it was forgotten. Many cases show up in medical records through the years, but in 1905, D...

The four significant modern tests for insanity are: The McNaughtan test requires six elements. These are 1. Disease of mind. 2. Causing and not merely co-existing with. 3. A defect of reason is resulting in the offender. 4. Not knowing. 5. The nature and quality of hid act. 6. That the ac...

Term Paper: Crazy in the Streets There is a difference when you are homeless because you're bankrupt, you have no job, no where to look to, and because everyone that you have known has abandoned you, and homeless, simply because you have a psychotic illness that cannot be controlled and has to be ...

Munchausen Syndrome A middle aged woman complaining of an abnormally high fever; a thirty-something blue collar worker having multiple seizures a day; a college student mysteriously contracting infection after infection. Is this a medical mystery, or are the patients intentionally harming the...