Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id CAA29159 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 22 Mar 2002 02:42:58 GMT From: "Lawrence DeBivort" <debivort@umd5.umd.edu> To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: Yates -death penalty and insanity Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002 21:14:50 -0500 Message-ID: <NEBBKOADILIOKGDJLPMAMECDCNAA.debivort@umd5.umd.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) In-reply-to: <000f01c1cdee$a73a2240$3ba9eb3e@default> Importance: Normal X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2919.6600 Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Many thanks for the information on Belgium's situation, kenneth. In the last
few days I have stopped following this story. I am working on some
international conflicts and simply have to triage my time, so I can't
contribute much to this subject, or the developments that will undoubtedly
follow on it. As you know, I am in two minds regarding the insanity defense
and what it means, so I shall sit back on this one and follow the discussion
here quietly...
Lawrence
> -----Original Message-----
> From: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk [mailto:fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk]On Behalf
> Of Kenneth Van Oost
> Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2002 3:01 PM
> To: kennethvanoost@myrealbox.com
> Subject: Re: question about memes
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lawrence DeBivort <debivort@umd5.umd.edu>
> > My impression is that in the US if a person is condemned for criminal
> > insanity, that they remain in prison for the criminally insane
> and are not
> > released until they 'prove' they are healed (or their sentence
> runs out?).
> I
> > don't know ehether this is followed in practice, given the
> general policy
> of
> > releasing criminals and people with mental problems into the general
> > population, but this has been the apporach for at least a couple of
> > high-visibility cases that I know about: Hinckley, who shot Reagan, and
> > Dennis Sweeney, who assassinated Al Lowenberg. Hinckley has
> asked several
> > times to be released, and his doctors simply post their
> diagnosis that he
> is
> > still sick.
>
> Hi Lawrence,
> What is it now for you, afternoon or the midle of the night !?
> Anyway, good day to you.
>
> It is my understanding that such aspects are questions dripped in what the
> public opinion should think if those who are insane ciminals were
> to be re-
> leased.
> In Belgium we work with the law- Lejeune, named after the one who com-
> mitted this to parlement. The law includes that if one's sentence runs out
> for 3/4, they can ask for a release but under strict conditions.
> For the allegedly insane criminal the same approach can be reached.
>
> There are, like I said, conditions attached to, but in practice
> the justice-
> department lacks the people and the means to follow up everybody who
> was released in such a way. They have experimented with electronic-
> house- arrest- devices, but it didn 't work.
> The result of such imcompetence, that is it for most of the time, is that
> for
> example Dutroux could kill again.( But don 't say that to the
> government...!)
>
> OTOH, killers like Horion ( killed 8), Pandy and Dutroux should not be
> released, even they were not found insane, due to the pressure of the
> public opinion.
> Such killers were found by psychiatrists responsible for their deeds and
> are seen as permanent dangers for society. Releasing them, ( on a huma-
> nitarian bias) would give rise to some public concern, not in the
> least for
> the criminal himself. We don 't have such a tradition like in the US/ GB
> as to what point the public must be being informed of the criminal where-
> abouts ( Megan's Law)_ but the criminal will not have the chance to live
> a normal life, again on that point we ain 't that so forgiving.
> (A solution, which the defense of Horion was hoping for, was that he
> could live the rest of his life abroad, far away from any debate concer-
> ning his release...the same thing was applied for a Irish priest, accused
> of several pedosexual deeds_he then would have lived the rest of his
> natural life within the walls of some monastery).
>
> The point of release- upon- healing is a very hot item of dispute.
> If at the bias lies a conflict of psychological/ psychiatric expertise
> insane/ not insane, healed/ not healed) or something else I can
> 't say, but
> in the recent
> years examples has shown that in the way Justice handles such cases,
> very big and far reaching faults/ blunders were made, not in the
> least that
> those released did wander freely around committing more crimes.
> You can understand that the pressure of the public opinion ( translated
> in some changes in the law Lejeune, which is constant under scrunity)
> increases(d) and that fewer criminals can facilate their release.
> What of course is translated in a number of uprisings in some prisons and
> into an increased number of suicides.
>
> The Lejeune- law is now changed in such a way that 1 professional judge,
> 2 indepent from eachother psychologists, the prison- warden and the
> family ( families) of the victims had a saying in releasing or not-
> releasing
> the criminal.
> Horion asked for his release, but it is denied. He now summons the mini-
> ster of Justice by accusing him of prejudice.
> Strange country....
>
>
> By the way, did you notion Late Edition on CNN !?
> If not, the hottest news on the Yates case_ her husband is thinking of
> beginning a lawsuit against some doctors to whom he did mention that
> his wife was not mentally stable to raise his children. But they did
> nothing, of course. Who more than he himself was better placed to
> notice there was something wrong... !?
>
> Some experts did already adviced against such prospect. He has indeed
> a great moral responsiblity but he did not do anything criminal.
> Damn, sorry... oeh, I wish I was Yates' her lawyer... I love to nail such
> imbeciles to the wall ! Sorry, I had to say that !
> Insane she was !? Good thinking girl !
>
> Best regards,
>
> Kenneth
>
>
> ===============================================================
> This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
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This was distributed via the memetics list associated with the
Journal of Memetics - Evolutionary Models of Information Transmission
For information about the journal and the list (e.g. unsubscribing)
see: http://www.cpm.mmu.ac.uk/jom-emit
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