it's all imperfect, Swoly. the whole system is imperfect. but we seek to prove motive all the time. in cases i deal with it comes up in fraud. you have to prove that the bad guy knew what he was doing..that he set out to screw people over. that he wanted people to rely on him to their own detriment. you prove that through circumstantial evidence, generally. in this case, they use an expert to help. each side presents doctors who deal with this stuff to decide whether she had a concept that what she was doing was wrong.
Susan Smith? The prison have plenty of deviants that killed kids QUESTION: why is it .. I was insane . . i didn't know what I was doing is better than I was drunk/high/slipped a mickey and didn't know what I was doing? There are lots of situation where people 'didn't know what they were doing' but people died. . and someone has to be held accountable Rocket River Didn't she CHASE ONE OF THE KIDS DOWN to drown him
If a person can not determine wrong or right through no fault of their own how are they guilty of not determining wrong and wright? They only justice available for her children is for us better understand and treat mental illness.
1. did you get drunk on your own accord?? if you did, you can't later use that as a defense when you mess up people's lives. 2. she can be held accountable...but the DA didn't seek manslaughter charges here. they didn't go after her like they might go after a drunk driver. they went for murder. that requires heightened intent. she has to know what she was doing...and she has to know it was wrong. 3. if she were black you'd be defending her. there, i said it.
Wow. Just simply... wow. I guess I do learn something new everyday. That man should have never seen the light of day, either. I guess people have different ideas of what "murder" is these days. How anyone let the guy you posted be found not guilty is a travesty. I think if you kill your kids, you never get to be in the free world again. Ever. And that was written exactly the same way. If you don't realize you're doing it, you need to rethink your writing style.
I think the legal system would cut it down to being able to control something. Mental illness, the person has no control over how their actions. Where as drugs, it seen more as a self induced situation, i.e. the person decided to take the drugs, hence they are responsible for their actions
My 2 cents (that isn't worth much these days) I'm not against the verdict. I understand how it works in our legal system and in court. I was generalizing because the idea of guilt loses something here. she certainly killed the children- that is what she is guilty of. From the viewpoint of the children as they took their last breaths I am not concerned whether we call her insane, a murderer or totally incompetent. To say that she is not guilty means she didn't do it. The children would still be alive unless someone else did it. It was not an act of self defense- it was an act of senseless killing. If her mental condition is such that she has no responsibility for her actions then consider that in the punishment phase. I regret that our legal system cannot say she commited the killing and it was wrong for her to do it. If clemency, compassion, care or other responses are appropriate due to her mental condition I just personally have the opinion the legal system needs to change and should consider that in the punishment phase. Not guilty means you did not do it, it does not mean you don't have the mental capacity to know what you are doing. People on LSD and Crack can fall into that category.
what i'm saying is she's not guilty of murder under the law. that doesn't mean she didn't kill them. no one is saying she didn't kill them. people on LSD and crack can't use it as a defense because they took LSD and crack.
Even if the statement is true? By the way, the woman is as crazy as they come. I thought her husband was a little off too. I don't care what happens to her as long as she isn't able to harm anyone ever again. They should have gone for manslaughter.
and every other thread that he posts in. Everything is about how someone black is being screwed over or how it would be different if a person was black. It gets old.
Are those not addictions Addictions seem to indicate a lack of control over them ad·dic·tion Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance: compulsive physiological need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be physically, psychologically, or socially harmful Rocket River
i don't make the law, RR. i'm reporting merely how it is. i'm sure the argument you're making has been made...i don't know how it's turned out.
Actually, I've only read it in parts. This thing has ballooned like crazy. My surprise has nothing at all to do with the thread though, but that you'd resort to an ad hominem attack in your argument. It could be completely true and still be an illegitimate debating tactic. Of course, other folks on the BBS do it 100 times a day, so whatever.
