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Insanity defense
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===Incompetency and mental illness=== An important distinction to be made is the difference between [[Competency evaluation (law)|competency]] and criminal responsibility. *The issue of competency is whether a defendant is able to adequately assist their attorney in preparing a defense, make informed decisions about trial strategy and whether to plead guilty, accept a plea agreement or plead not guilty. This issue is dealt with in [[UK]] law as "[[fitness to plead]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/mentally_disordered_offenders/|title=Mentally Disordered Offenders - The Crown Prosecution Service|website=cps.gov.uk|access-date=2 February 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115112901/http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/l_to_o/mentally_disordered_offenders/|archive-date=15 November 2017}}</ref> Competency largely deals with the defendant's present condition, while criminal responsibility addresses the condition at the time the crime was committed.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.michiganprosecutor.org/alger/Articles/Criminal%2520Responsibility.doc |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-06-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229110609/http://michiganprosecutor.org/alger/Articles/Criminal%20Responsibility.doc |archive-date=2010-12-29 }}</ref> In the United States, a trial in which the insanity defense is invoked typically involves the testimony of [[psychiatrist]]s or [[psychologist]]s who will, as [[expert witness]]es, present opinions on the defendant's state of mind at the time of the offense. Therefore, a person whose mental disorder is not in dispute is determined to be sane if the court decides that despite a "mental illness" the defendant was responsible for the acts committed and will be treated in court as a normal defendant. If the person has a mental illness and it is determined that the mental illness interfered with the person's ability to determine right from wrong (and other associated criteria a jurisdiction may have) and if the person is willing to plead guilty or is proven guilty in a court of law, some jurisdictions have an alternative option known as either a '''Guilty but Mentally Ill''' ('''GBMI''') or a '''Guilty but Insane''' verdict. The GBMI verdict is available as an alternative to, rather than in lieu of, a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bonnie |first1=Richard J. |last2 =Coughlin |first2 =Anne M. |title=Criminal Law |publisher=The Foundation Press |year=1997 |location=Westbury, NY |page=537 |isbn=1-56662-448-7}}</ref> [[Michigan]] (1975) was the first state to create a GBMI verdict, after two prisoners released after being found NGRI committed violent crimes within a year of release, one raping two women and the other killing his wife.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Smith & Hall|title=Evaluating Michigan's Guilty but Mentally Ill Verdict: An Empirical Study Study|url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2016&context=mjlr|access-date=27 Jul 2020|website=repository.law.umich.edu|page=82}}</ref>
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