Insanity vs Psychosis in a legal concept - Essay Example

Psychosis can also be associated with heavy drug abuse and drug use (Hirstein, 2009). Insanity on the other hand generally refers to the broad range of abnormal behavior and instability thereby making people think of it as closely linked or related to psychosis. Just as in psychosis, insanity is perceived as mental instability that makes people see things that are not real, and makes them think, behave, believe and act differently which manifest in behaviors that violates widely held social norms.

These acts can collectively lead to endangering ones and others lives or may lead to one committing an unintended or accidental crime (Ewing & C. 2008). These two aspects, psychosis and insanity, hence are very essential when it comes to defining legal concepts and practice. This is so because over the past several criminal cases have been witnessed where the accused were seemingly driven to commit crimes due to their mental conditions, while others defend their criminal actions by claiming they were not in their rightful state of mind.

This has consequences, through the practice of law over time, brought about what is known as the “Insanity Defense Law” which extensively connects psychiatry and law. The Insanity Defense Law, used by criminal defenders or lawyers, is based on the provisions that a defendant must be found not guilty by reason of insanity if, at the time of the alleged offense, and as a result of severe mental disease or defect, he/she did not know what he/she was doing, or that what he was doing was wrong (Ewing, 2008).

This in the Law system therefore means that there are criminals who can’t be held accountable for their crimes due to mental disease, or a mental condition that makes one unable to make a rational decision at the time of the crime. It is however important to note that for this law to be applicable the defendant must be in a competent position to stand in a trial. In cases where the accused is incompetent, he/she is sent to a mental institution until considered able of participating in the trial.

Additionally those who are considered completely insane are sent into an asylum prison in order to prevent danger of harming oneself or others (Hirstein, 2009). From these proponents, the exercise of “Insanity Defense Law” sometimes makes it difficult to distinguish between psychosis and insanity in a legal concept. In some cases for instance, varying from state to state on how the Law is practiced, if the legal tests proves that the accused is generally insane, the final ruling will be based on specifically that and not whether it was due to temporary psychosis as a health condition or permanent insanity (permanent psychotic mental disorder).

Temporary psychosis as a health condition might be caused by sudden mental illness such as brain tumor and use of drugs that in turn may impair mental functions while permanent insanity or psychotic mental disorder is caused with a permanent mental illness that cannot be treated easily such as schizophrenia. The provisions of the law insist that defendants established to have committed the crime while in temporary psychos