Originally posted by: RapidSnail
Originally posted by: jonks
Originally posted by: RapidSnail
Why do we put animals to death if they kill or maim a person (pitbulls and other dogs are prime examples), but the insanity plea allows human perpetrators to skip jail time?
yes, why do we not treat humans the way we treat animals? let us ponder
Don't be dense you fool.
The point is that animals don't have the same level of awareness as human beings, yet they are punished for things that most often are completely justified by their sense of instinct. They have no moral awareness. This man, who is considered medically insane, is arguably on the same level as an animal. To quote:
"He did not appreciate the act he committed was morally wrong. He believed he was acting in self defence [sic] and that he had been commanded by God to do so."
Very few animals are capable of beheading other creatures and then storing body parts as souvenirs. Yet when an otherwise domesticated and harmless animal turns "crazy" because of some perceived threat, it is put down. The same animal is almost certainly less responsible morally for its actions than the man. So either give animals, who act almost exclusively on instinct, a chance at rehabilitation; or, if you're not going to do that, hold human beings, insane or not, at the same level of responsibility.
I eat animals, I know they "aren't the same." I also consider the fact that mental insanity is a genuine reason for such actions. But the way I see it, someone who does this should either be locked in a mental institution for life, or if freed, closely guarded or supervised; or locked in prison or put to death because of reasonable intent.