Posted by octopusprime on June 15, 2004, at 10:03:06
In reply to Accountability, posted by Angel Girl on June 15, 2004, at 4:35:47
> I totally agree with those statements. However, if we can not think properly, can we still be held accountable for what we do?
disclaimer: i am not a lawyer, nothing i say constitutes legal advice, everything i say will be held against you ...
that said, most people that are depressed are still accountable for their actions.
one must be found be a court of law to be "insane" before one is no longer accountable for her actions.
from nolo.com(*):
"Various definitions of insanity are in use because neither the legal system nor psychiatrists can agree on a single meaning of insanity in the criminal law context. The most popular definition is the "McNaghten rule," which defines insanity as "the inability to distinguish right from wrong." Another common test is known as "irresistible impulse": a person may know that an act is wrong, but because of mental illness he cannot control his actions (he's described as acting out of an "irresistible impulse")."it seems to me that the "irrationality" of depression is most frequently negative distorted thinking, not a fundamental alteration of the understanding of right and wrong. there are cases of depressed people that would be insane by most tests; however i think these people are the minority.
poster:octopusprime
thread:356808
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20040611/msgs/356878.html