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posted on 8/28/15

Throughout the United States prisons and jails are increasingly filled with people who suffer from severe forms of mental illness. One recent study found that across the country some 356,000 inmates in jails and prisons have serious mental illnesses, while only 35,000 individuals with severe mental illnesses reside in state psychiatric hospitals.

Illinois, like many states, offers criminal defendants the option to raise the so-called insanity defense when charged with a crime.

The Illinois Insanity Defense

Under the law in Illinois someone may not be convicted of a crime if he or she can establish with clear and convincing evidence that at the time of the crime he or she had a mental disease or defect that kept them from having “substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct.” This is different from the common definitions of mental illness or the standards for civil commitment.

Very few criminal defendants are successful in winning insanity defense cases. Some estimates show that as few as 1 percent of the cases raising this defense are successful. It is not enough to prove that someone has a mental illness. Instead, the court must be convinced that the mental illness was so severe as to keep the defendant from realizing the criminal nature of his or her actions.

Under Illinois law if you win your case you after raising the insanity defense you are found to be not guilty by reason of insanity. Some people, however, may not qualify for the insanity defense, but their mental illness makes them unfit to stand trial. If someone is found to be mentally unfit, they will be treated until they are ready to stand trial for the crimes they have been charged with.

The Consequences of the Insanity Defense

Defendants who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity, or where a court has determined that they are not mentally fit to stand trial, are housed in one of the state’s forensic mental health facilities. It is possible that defendants may spend more time in a mental health facility that they would have spent in prison had they been convicted of a crime.

Before a patient can be released from the facility a lengthy process must play out. It can take years for a criminal patient to be authorized for release from a state forensic mental health facility.

If you, or someone you love, has been charged or accused of a crime, talk with a knowledgeable Schaumburg criminal defense attorney right away. If there are any mental health issues, you need an attorney experienced in dealing with these issues in a criminal defense situation. Call Glasgow & Olsson today at 847.577.8700 to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

http://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/problem/consequences-of-non-treatment/2580

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2947&ChapterID=55