The insanity defense is one of the worst ways that someone can be found not guilty in any court system. I do believe that mentally ill patients should be held accountable for their actions. This is shown tremendously in the movie Primal Fear with Richard Geer. A well known Cardinal in the Catholic ministry is murdered. An alter boy is caught and he tries to make everyone believe that he didn't commit the crime. It turns out that the alter boy supposedly has a split personality between this really mean person and this abused other figure. Richard Geer goes and is able to get a ruling of not guilty by reason of insanity which sends the man to a hospital to get treatment. But then it turns out that alter boy fooled everyone and he doesn't have a split personality he was just acting to not have to go to jail. By going for the insanity defense the person charged of the crime could just be acting and not actually have a mental illness. I think not guilty by reason of insanity is a piss poor way of getting out of something that you did. I also feel the same way about people with mental retardation and that no one should be able to plead not guilty by reason of insanity. I am a firm believer of eye for an eye; you kill someone you should be killed with exceptions for the military. There are a lot of psychos out their but I still don't believe that they should be able to get off from doing time because they plead that they are insane. Like the woman that drowned all of her kids in the bath tub and she claims she didn't know what she was doing or someone that has their kids belted in the car and then rolls the car into the lake. Those types of people deserve the death penalty regardless if they feel that they were insane at the time of their actions. A person being bad and being ill are too different things but if you commit a crime you should be held accountable for your actions whether you are eight or eighty you should be held accountable for your actions. Also not knowing right from wrong is a thing that people try to pull to get the not guilty by reason of insanity. People that pull that defense should be put in a padded room for the rest of their life so they can't hurt anyone anymore. Now will they understand why they are in jail but that is what treatment is for and they can receive that in their very own padded room. As a recap I believe the not guilty by reason of insanity is a piss poor excuse to weasel your way out of something you did wrong. In turn you should be punished for your crimes regardless if you know right from wrong or if you feel that you are insane.