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RE: Mentally ill people commiting crimes: opinions.
The responses to this poll are going to fall right along the lines of positions the same people would take in a bigger ongoing debate -- whether the role of the criminal justice system is retaliation (making sure the perpetrator "got what he deserved") or rehabilitation (making sure it doesn't happen again).
Obviously, the supporters of the retaliation mindset are going to feel it doesn't make any difference whether somebody is insane or not. Retaliation is a response to acts and the acts have been committed.
Those in the rehabilitation camp would see a big difference. Someone suffering from a mental illness needs different treatment than someone who knowingly committed a crime.
Most criminal justice systems try to somehow balance the two, but it has been shown that systems leaning toward rehabilitation (shorter sentences, needs-based treatment, available counseling and education while serving time) produce far fewer re-offenders than the systems that focus on retaliation.
Personally, my opinion is that if anyone needs to be penalized for crimes committed by persons with previous mental illness history, it should be their family members and the mental health institutions responsible for them. They are the ones fully competent, who have been negligent in their responsibility to supervise a patient.
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