The Plea Of Insanity In Criminal Cases Classic Reprint

Author : Richard Dewey
Publisher : Forgotten Books
ISBN 13 : 9780484253314
Total Pages : 32 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (533 download)

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Download or read book Provision for Insane Criminals (Classic Reprint) written by Richard Dewey and published by Forgotten Books. This book was released on 2017-12-20 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Provision for Insane Criminals Public sentiment is, however, an unsafe guide in this mat ter. It follows a pendulum course itself and is swayed, now this way, now that, as the gravity of the fundamental interests of society, or the secret springs of sympathy and sentiment may direct. We have had in early times the punishment of numerous innocent insane persons; in later times a revulsion of feeling in favor of insanity as an excuse of crime; then a reaction against the improper use of this plea; and with each ebb and flow of popular feeling, guilty men have escaped and innocent men have suffered. I wish here at the outset to disclaim all sympathy with the excessive and injurious benevolence which sees in all crimes, only the misfortunes and not the fault of their perpetrators, and inveighs against the present defects of society as the res ponsible agency. It may well be that the fatal snare of evil inheritance and environment makes criminals in many instances what they are, and that with the external conditions reversed, the relative position of the criminal and the executioner of the law would also be reversed; but the vicious and de structive influences which would annihilate all order and all progress, can only be met by stern repression and control. It is true that society has a duty toward the criminal beyond simply immuring him where he can do no harm; but swift and certain punishment is also an essential part of' that duty, and the direction in which progress is to be made is (let) in the more careful adjustment of the penalty to the measure of responsibility; (2d) in the judicious introduction of agencies within the prison which will carefully foster whatever there may be left of right-mindedness in the individual criminal. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.