Hundreds of Lindsay Clancy supporters, many wearing pink clothing emblazoned with phrases such as “Believe,” “She Needed Help” and “Peace For Lindsay,” gathered Thursday outside the courthouse where she is on trial in the killings of her three children.
Several of the 300 women, and a few men, said Clancy’s story resonated with them and that they wanted to raise awareness about how the mental health system treats women. Clancy’s lawyer does not dispute that she killed the children, but says she should not be held criminally responsible because she was mentally ill.
This is a giant misunderstanding IMO. Being mentally ill is part of who that person is, if it results in criminal actions, the person must be held responsible. Otherwise we can boil the argument down to that we all are influenced by outside forces, and we essentially don’t have free will. And that would make No one responsible for their actions.
For example: “I was angry because I was hungry.”
Should that be a legal defense?
Granted that if she can be successfully treated, that could serve as an argument to reduce punishment, if she is no longer a danger to people around her. And American punishments are generally over the top sociopathic.
But the idea that mental illness should void responsibility is a huge misunderstanding.
I was once personally threatened by someone with a big knife, claiming he was allowed to do it because he was mentally ill.
I explained to him very carefully, that he is not, and if he attacked me, he would go to prison. He was obviously aware of what he was doing, and I managed to talk him down. But he too had this idea that you are not responsible for your actions, if you can claim mental illness.