- Sep 22, 2013
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There are countless movies about legal dramas.
The law is not a simple matter, and in the modern age, considerations about the ambiguity of authorship and trademark protection in the largely-unregulated Internet makes things even more complicated.
The establishment and enforcement of all kinds of contracts reflect how our civilization manages economic teamwork.
Perhaps the most frustrating 'enclave' of the law is the subject of criminal insanity.
If a person accused of a crime pleads the Insanity Defense, they may be acquitted for any charge of intentional criminality, since they may be rendered 'temporarily insane' and therefore not in full control of their actions (and hence unable to account for their own decisions).
Human beings are fascinated by the intrigue and complications involved with the categorization, treatment, and prosecution of criminal insanity.
The American comic book superhero Batman (DC Comics) is a fictional masked urban vigilante who tackles nemeses who are all technically in some way or another criminally insane. Batman's nemeses, Poison Ivy (an eco-terrorist), Two-Face (an extremist), and Scarecrow (a masked spook), exhibit varying degrees of pure criminal insanity; their grievances are serious and they are sometimes unable to take full responsibility for their actions which they pursue in fits of environment-heated rage.
The American horror film character Leatherface (the fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal from the iconic Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies) represents the failure of psychiatry and human rage taken all out of proportion.
Leatherface is very similar to the Batman nemesis Scarecrow, so we can use a Batman-Leatherface 'dialogic' to construct a useful framework for debating the validity and logistics of prosecuting criminal insanity.
Feel free to add comments about how criminal insanity legalese discussions are complemented by concerns about system-specific legal procedures (e.g., British legal system vs. American legal system).
====
BATMAN: Why do you wield a chainsaw, Leatherface?
LEATHERFACE (SCARECROW): People don't respect tools.
BATMAN: Why not a hammer or a knife or even a gun?
LEATHERFACE: The chainsaw is furious and fast.
BATMAN: Are you a 'hardware store terrorist'?
LEATHERFACE: I'm simply criminally insane!
BATMAN: If you're aware of your condition, you must be held accountable for your actions.
LEATHERFACE: My rage renders me unable to control my instincts.
BATMAN: What is the instinct to murder?
LEATHERFACE: Claustrophobia and Social Anxiety Disorder (or both!).
BATMAN: Are your victims your 'messengers'?
LEATHERFACE: Yes, in a way.
BATMAN: Only you can hear your victims scream!
LEATHERFACE: I can't rein in my malice.
BATMAN: Malice and mischief seem to be united in your mind, Leatherface.
LEATHERFACE: What do the lawyers say?
====
Insanity Defense (Wikipedia)
The law is not a simple matter, and in the modern age, considerations about the ambiguity of authorship and trademark protection in the largely-unregulated Internet makes things even more complicated.
The establishment and enforcement of all kinds of contracts reflect how our civilization manages economic teamwork.
Perhaps the most frustrating 'enclave' of the law is the subject of criminal insanity.
If a person accused of a crime pleads the Insanity Defense, they may be acquitted for any charge of intentional criminality, since they may be rendered 'temporarily insane' and therefore not in full control of their actions (and hence unable to account for their own decisions).
Human beings are fascinated by the intrigue and complications involved with the categorization, treatment, and prosecution of criminal insanity.
The American comic book superhero Batman (DC Comics) is a fictional masked urban vigilante who tackles nemeses who are all technically in some way or another criminally insane. Batman's nemeses, Poison Ivy (an eco-terrorist), Two-Face (an extremist), and Scarecrow (a masked spook), exhibit varying degrees of pure criminal insanity; their grievances are serious and they are sometimes unable to take full responsibility for their actions which they pursue in fits of environment-heated rage.
The American horror film character Leatherface (the fictional chainsaw-wielding cannibal from the iconic Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies) represents the failure of psychiatry and human rage taken all out of proportion.
Leatherface is very similar to the Batman nemesis Scarecrow, so we can use a Batman-Leatherface 'dialogic' to construct a useful framework for debating the validity and logistics of prosecuting criminal insanity.
Feel free to add comments about how criminal insanity legalese discussions are complemented by concerns about system-specific legal procedures (e.g., British legal system vs. American legal system).
====
BATMAN: Why do you wield a chainsaw, Leatherface?
LEATHERFACE (SCARECROW): People don't respect tools.
BATMAN: Why not a hammer or a knife or even a gun?
LEATHERFACE: The chainsaw is furious and fast.
BATMAN: Are you a 'hardware store terrorist'?
LEATHERFACE: I'm simply criminally insane!
BATMAN: If you're aware of your condition, you must be held accountable for your actions.
LEATHERFACE: My rage renders me unable to control my instincts.
BATMAN: What is the instinct to murder?
LEATHERFACE: Claustrophobia and Social Anxiety Disorder (or both!).
BATMAN: Are your victims your 'messengers'?
LEATHERFACE: Yes, in a way.
BATMAN: Only you can hear your victims scream!
LEATHERFACE: I can't rein in my malice.
BATMAN: Malice and mischief seem to be united in your mind, Leatherface.
LEATHERFACE: What do the lawyers say?
====
Insanity Defense (Wikipedia)
