09/02/2026
If we grant the insanity defense for any criminal, it gives defense attorneys and criminals too much artistic license to tell a story about the unfortunate circumstances that caused a person to become an offender. Then it becomes a practically impossible task to determine who is worthy of “rehabilitation”and who isn’t.
The problem is that every offender has such a story. No one chose their genetics, childhood, brain chemistry, intelligence, trauma, or the chain of circumstances that ultimately shaped their behavior.
Once we accept that, the relevant question should not be, “Did this person have sufficiently tragic causes for what they did?” It should be, “What did this person do, how dangerous have they proven themselves to be, and what response best protects society and delivers justice to the victims?” Understanding causation should help us prevent crime; it should not become an endlessly expandable excuse for it.