Famous Insanity Defense Cases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Famous Insanity Defense Cases - Essay Example Insanity defense dates back from Ancient Greece and Rome, however, the first definition that is closer to the modern definition of insanity defense was given by an English Court, in 1843, the insane person being compared to a wild beast. However, an earlier definition explains insane defense as it follows: â€Å"If a madman or a natural fool, or a lunatic in the time of his lunacy do [kill a man], this is no felonious act for they cannot be said to have any understanding will.† In the USA, some of the leading historical moments directly connected to the insane defense are: the case Durham v. United States , (which established the Durham rule, also known as the â€Å"Product test†), the drafting of the American Law Institute Test (1953), the Hinckley case , which led to the adoption of Insanity Defense Reform Act in 1984 and the well known Andrea Yates case. The Andrea Yates case is one of the most mediated criminal cases involving insanity defense of the 21st century. Unfortunately, this is due to its dramatic implications. However, in spite of the horrifying implications, the defense attorneys managed to prove her mental instability and avoid her being convicted to prison for life time or maybe even death penalty. Andrea Yates is woman from Texas who one day killed all of her five children by drowning them, and after that, she called her husband and the police and let them know what she had done. The theories regarding this case are numerous and they continue to appear. Some are sure that the woman was suffering from a severe mental disorder, others disagree. The first trial found Andrea Yates guilty and gave her a life sentence. She was granted a second trial one year later and the jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. The defense attorneys focused on proving Andrea Yates’ mental illness, which according to family, f riends and psychiatrists who had treated her in the past, was a FACT. In spite of the prosecution expert – Dr. Welner and other evidence, Andrea pleaded not guilty during the second trial. Dr. Park Dietz made a list of events that had affected Andrea Yates during her life and may have contributed to her mental disorder: â€Å"Giving up her career; Giving up her possessions; Changing her

Use of Indian mascots in sports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Use of Indian mascots in sports - Essay Example As such, it is bout time the truth was let out to the people as a means of ending negative stereotyping and racism drawn from deep within our history. Such efforts can attain significant efficacy if the issue is tackled from the sports context which evidently bears much of the concealed negative stereotyping of Native American Indians. The National Congress of American Indians has in the past explained that most depictions of Native American stereotypes in educational and/or commercial settings vilify and defame tribal nations, native cultures, and native peoples. This happens in that they usually spread legacies of prejudiced attitudes and racism that are rooted deep within ancient American cultures that looked down upon the natives particularly in the pre-civil rights era. This does not however mean that the teams that use names such as the Washington Redskins, Atlanta Braves, and Cleveland Indians deliberately use them to annoy or humiliate the Native American Indians; in most cases, they have no idea what is concealed in the names and mascots. This means that even Indian images such as the Chief Zee, ChiefNoc-A-Homa and Chief Wahoo portray the Native Americans as ethnic groups frozen in history. In this, political inequity and racial segregation emerge. The matter of Native Indians being oppressed dates back to American history when they were being accused of being â€Å"unreasonable savages who had corrupted new national ideals of political stability and economic continuity† (Deloria 39). The contributing factor as to why Indian mascots and other related phenomena are used to mock Indians is the fact that they were rich in symbolism and had multiple objects, beliefs, and imageries that were associated with them. For instance, the Red Indian face with a feather sticking out of his hair and the tomahawk are identities associated with the Native American Indians. Today, such names and imageries are used in sports teams and in popular merchandise such as