Insanity Defense Discussion Instructions

Class Interaction Project #4

The Insanity Defense

The insanity defense has had a long and somewhat controversial history within American court systems. The origins of the insanity defense trace back to the writings of Plato, who put forth the notion that a person afflicted by mental illness who commits a crime should not be held to the same legal standard as a sane person.

Over the past century, varying definitions of the insanity defense have been applied in our courts as the legal standard for the insanity defense has continued to evolve. The evolving legal standard has been influenced by both political and historical events, such as the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan.

Several famous cases in Texas, such as those of Andrea Yates, Deanna Laney, and Lisa Diaz, have illustrated the varying legal interpretations and applications of the insanity defense. More recently, the case Dena Schlosser of Plano, who killed her baby by severing its arms with a knife, once again brought national attention to this issue. These four cases in which the insanity defense was attempted, each involving similar crimes (mothers killing their own children), resulted in different outcomes (Yates = guilty of murder, but sentence overturned on a technicality, retrial this summer; Laney = not guilty by reason of insanity; Diaz = not guilty by reason of insanity; Schlosser = hung jury, with non-jury retrial soon). And so, even within the State of Texas, different juries, and different judges, have applied and interpreted the insanity in differing ways.

Instructions:

Step 1:

Consider the following main discussion question:
Is the insanity defense an appropriate legal defense for a mentally ill person who as committed a crime?

Write a one paragraph position statement in which you explain your position on the insanity defense issue. Be sure to offer as many concrete, real life example that supports your belief as you can.

Step 2:

Getting to the Online Bulletin Board

Sometime between Monday and Tuesday, post your position statement essay on the class interactive bulletin board located at www.nicenet.org

Already have your nicenet.org account set up?
If you already have a nicenet.org user account set up, simply use the username and password you established when completing the human nature debate discussion.

First time nicenet.org users:
Click here for instructions on setting up a nicenet.org user account.

After you get to the Bulletin Board
Click the conferencing link to access the list of discussion topics.

For this activity, the class will be divided into two discussion groups (last names A - L, and M - Z). Click on the appropriate discussion group depending on the first letter of your last name.

To post your position statement, locate and click on the “Post Message to Insanity Defense Discussion” link located just below the Conferencing Topic: Insanity Defense Discussion banner at the top of the page.

Beside “Post Message to Personality: Insanity Defense Discussion,” you will see “Create a New Topic.” DO NOT post your message as a new topic, or by creating a new topic. Again, please use the “Post Message to Insanity Defense Discussion” link to post your statement.

You are only required to post and interact within your group. But if you'd like to click the link for another group and read their discussion threads, you are welcome to do so. But you are only required to follow the discussions in your own group.

When posting your position statement, enter a brief subject indicating which statement you are addressing in the subject box. Doing so will help other students in the class know know a bit about the general point of your essay without reading your entire essay.

Post your position statement preferably no later than Tuesday, April 11th. But if you haven't posted your message by Tuesday, don't panic. It's not too late. Just be sure to post your essay as soon as possible.

After you’ve entered your position statement / essay, click “Post Message” to enter your statement onto the bulletin board.

Step 3:

Starting Wednesday, check the bulletin board, read what your classmates have written and be sure to reply and comment on at least THREE other person's posted messages. You are encouraged to respond and defend your position by addressing challenges to your position on the issue you addressed in your position statement.

Continue to check the message threads through the weekend. Try to check back each day (Wednesday through Saturday / Sunday) and engage in the debate.

IMPORTANT POINT:
When posting your rebuttal to another students belief, DO NOT resort to personal attacks or insults in attempting to discredit another student's belief. The tone of the debate should be friendly, logical and scholarly, NOT personal and emotional. Keep in mind that these are philosophical issues and that there is not an ultimate right or wrong position to take.

Step 4:

After completing the first three steps, send an email message containing your answers to the discussion questions below. Send your discussion question answers to dlipscomb@ccccd.edu

Please be sure to put "Interaction #4 Summary" in the subject area for the email. Please submit your answers to the discussion questions by midnight on Tuesday, April 18th.

Briefly summarize your position statement on the insanity defense.
In your discussion group, did most of the essays lean toward a pro- or anti-insanity defense position? Or were they equally well represented?
Other than your own statement, what was the strongest argument offered by another student that supported your position on the insanity defense issue? That is, explain a rationale that supported your view, but offered a different point of view.
What was the strongest, most persuasive argument given by another student that differed from your own original opinion on the insanity defense issue?
After the activity, was your original belief in any way changed as a result of reading other's responses or by their rebuttals to your message? Explain.
Any other comments or observations?

Copyright 2005 Collin County Community College District and Dan Lipscomb
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