Insanity Defense Pros and Cons List

Eddie Ray Routh was a veteran of the Iraq war. He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). On February 2, 2013, he shot dead Chris Kyle, reputed to be the deadliest sniper in America, and Chad Littlefield, at a gun range in Texas. The insanity defense was his shot at getting out of jail.

Routh’s defense team painted a dark picture on their client’s struggle with mental issues after he served with the Marines. They told of how he was hospitalized four times in mental institutions seven months prior to the killings, and even include a stint less than a week before the shootings.

The prosecutors, however, argued that Routh evaded capture after killing Kyle and Littlefield – an action that showed he knew what he did was wrong. He did end up getting arrested and when a ranger asked him “You know what you did today is wrong, right?”

His reply was “Yes, sir.”

To prove he truly was “insane” at the time of killing, Routh’s attorney’s had to successfully argue that he was legally insane and not suffering from mental illness. In Texas, you can be declared insane but if you knew at the time you committed a crime that it was wrong, you’re going to jail.

Routh’s attorney’s had precedent, however. Andrea Yates drowned her five children after suffering from postpartum psychosis. In 2006, a Texas jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. Basically, there was a chance.

However, it didn’t end up that way. It took the jury less than three hours to decide that Routh was indeed guilty. The judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The Insanity Defense Is Rare

A lot of people believe that the insanity defense is a common plea. The truth is, it’s quite rare and somewhat difficult to pull off. In the Saint Louis University Public Law Review, James Hooper wrote that “less than half of 1 percent of trials actually lead to insanity of exculpation.”

Insanity defense comes into play the most in cases of the most bizarre. After all, who can do all those crazy things but a crazy person?

There is no clear data on the success of the insanity defense as well. According to the New York Times, of the nearly 6,000 murder cases that happened in New York between 2003 and 2013, a verdict of not guilty by reasons of mental health was handed to only seven defendants. A Cleveland State Law Review found that only 15% of insanity defenses were successful in Ohio. In Texas, an attorney estimated a 25% success rate for the plea.

So why exactly does this claim entered in criminal trials?

List of Pros of Insanity Defense

1. The defendant will not be sentenced to the death penalty if they are proven guilty by reason of insanity.

2. The defendant might not be sent to prison, although in the case of Routh, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Others get psychiatric care, sometimes for life.

3. The defendant is declared cured after staying in a psychiatric facility and is declared a non-threat to anyone when they are set free.

List of Cons of Insanity Defense

1. Some jurisdictions have abolished the insanity plea. And for those that still accept the defense, acquittal isn’t always easy to achieve.

2. A jurisdiction may not believe the insanity plea if there was no previous record of mental issues.

3. The defendant doesn’t have a high chance of being set free. The chances of getting committed to a psychiatric facility, often times for life, are very high.