Quote:
Originally Posted by Targan
And that Adam Lanza was essentially sane? That in effect he was of sound mind and that his actions were the result of considered and rational thought?
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Here's the thing: in the US, there is a legal distinction between sanity and mental illness. It's how a clearly sick person can be considered sane and convicted. Usually it comes down to whether or not a person is able to judge lawful behavior from unlawful behavior (ie, "knows right from wrong") and is able to assist and contribute to his own defense. In essence, sanity and insanity are legal terms. Being mentally ill is a medical diagnosis. Most of the time, the legal term of sanity trumps the medical diagnosis. Getting off for reasons of mental defect or disease is nowhere as easy as it is believed in this country, since sanity and insanity are simple legal distinctions that can easily overrule complex medical diagnoses.