Is Mental Illness a Justifiable Reason for Murder?

[Bluerang1]

After taking a psychology class it does seem evident that murderers and the like may have psychological problems which they were either born with or had develop due to unfortunate circumstances. Even the most sane murderer could have a slight defect in the empathetic part of their brain.

Are these defects justifications for murder? Which is to say it's not really the murderers fault, it's how their brain works. Or is it a cop out? Who's to say not every single person has some sort of bloodthirsty area in their heads but the majority know how to control their actions and be, in simple terms, good.

This is strictly about cold-blooded killers. Not soldiers, or self-defense etc.

 

[Oryx]

There are very few "cold-blooded killers" in the world. I think that by definition you are only including the ones with defined mental illness, sociopathy. Most murders are heat-of-the-moment, angry murders done not in cold blood, but out of a passion or rage or fear that is expressed through violence.

 

[Star-Lord]

I don't think it's so much "justifiable" as much as it is if they cannot be proven to have mens rea then they shouldn't be found culpable.

 

[Taemin]

Well, "cold-blooded killers" to me, are the ones who admit to killing people for no reason other than the the fact that they enjoy doing so. That, to me, says nothing but that they have a mental illness. They felt no strong emotion towards the person, or towards killing them. That's entirely different to me, than someone who is "sane" having been really emotionally hurt, and choose to act (incorrectly) in the heat of the moment.

"Everyone has their reasons" is true, but I think that some of them are far less stable a reason than others, and those people still need to be locked in some mental facility, and / or put on some meds. They are not the type of people that any normal amount of therapy can help.

There's a difference between being diagnosed as criminally insane and killing victims, and being an average joe who was emotionally hurt by someone and went overboard, only to regret it for the rest of their lives.

 

[Magic Christmas Lights]

There's a lot of misinformation about mental illness here. Statistically, a mentally ill person is no more likely to commit crimes than an average person. Murderers are murderers, a small subset of them may be mentally ill. In addition, people who struggle from mental illness tend to struggle succeeding in society (socioeconomic factors, lack of education about or access to healthcare, etc.), which is why there is a higher proportion of the mentally ill that have been institutionalized or jailed.

I was formerly diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder and reactive attachment disorder, which is the clinical term for sociopathy in children, and aside from being a very neglectful girlfriend, it didn't "force" me into doing anything terrible like that. Just because someone doesn't have a regular amount of empathy does not make them a murderer. I think people without personality disorders are more likely to commit murders because they have stronger emotions compelling them to do things. I've also known several people in my life who were diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder, which is the clinical term for adult sociopathy. A sociopath would most likely just murder for some kind of gain, it would be motivated by a logical reason. And most real sociopaths, don't want to go through the trouble of killing someone just because of the consequences and effort involved. There are easier ways of getting what you want. No, people with sociopathy don't have a part of the brain that tells them to kill. That's just popular media BS. They feel all the same emotions as you, just some of them are less strong.

I feel like this thread is a step back from seeing people with mental illness as equals, which they are. They aren't dangerous. :/

To answer your original question, no, lacking a normal amount of empathy is not a justifiable reason for killing someone. Someone with sociopathy still knows right from wrong.