Using the “Public Controversy” prompt, I will explore the debate surrounding the verdict of “guilty but mentally ill.” As a solution to the public outcry against the insanity defense, 20 states have created this verdict which states: the defendant is “mentally ill, but whose illness is not severe enough to relieve him of criminal responsibility” (PBS Frontline). If found guilty but mentally ill, the convicted individual would be treated until “cured” then put into prison to serve the remainder of the sentence (Melville, and Naimark 553-554). Many support this legal movement, such as assistant District Attorney Cheryl Coleman, because it provides treatment without absolving the criminal and due punishment (PBS Frontline). I will argue that this system is inefficient, detrimental to the offender and a strain on penitentiaries. I will relay on the position of the American Psychiatric Association along with the results of the Ralph Tortorici trial to support my stance (PBS Frontline). I hope to find more research on the duration of time served in a psychiatric hospital verses a penitentiary and the mental health assistance available in prisons.
"A Crime of Insanity." Frontline. PBS Frontline, 2011. Web. 12 Nov 201 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/trial/>.
Melville, John, and David Naimark. "Punishing the Insane: the Verdict of Guilty but Mentally Ill." The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the La. 30. (2002): 553-554. Web. 12 Nov 2011. <http://www.jaapl.org/content/30/4/553.full.pdf>.
You proposal already contains a counterargument and the general structure of your own argument, including some sources to support your position. In your essay, will your purpose simply be to prove that the "guilty but mentally ill" verdict should be removed, or will you attempt to propose another solution in its place? In either case, you should research your audience's prior beliefs in order to better convince them of your position. If you want to propose an alternative to "guilty but mentally ill," you'll have to research alternatives that have been used and their outcomes.
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