There are certain situations where lawyers can use criminal defenses as a way of liberating their clients from charges of criminal offences. Such situations are not rare to come across considering the fact the people commit crimes almost on a daily basis. Lawyers play major roles in ensuring that they convince the courts that their clients are innocent and do not deserve to be punished for the crimes they are accused of. Good examples of criminal defenses are those in which the lawyers defend their clients based on the premise that such clients were inane by the time they committed such offences.
A good example is the case of Schenecker who was arrested and is now facing murder charges after she was accused of killing her children in the year 2011. By the time the police officers found the lady, she was already unconsciously lying on her newly acquired Tampa home. There were traces of blood all over her hands as well as the bathrobe that she had around her. More evidence came from the fine black powder that was visible on her face, a sign that she had used a gun to commit the offense. When the police went upstairs in her house, they found her sixteen year old daughter who was lying on her bed with two bullet holes in her head. The second childwas also found dead in the family’s car where he was bleeding profusely in thepassenger’s seat where he had been belted.
Her lawyer may have an upper hand in giving a spirited defense of her clients since she had never been convicted of any criminal offense before. Moreover, the lady has a long track record of suffering from severe depressions as well as bipolar disorders. According to her doctors, the woman has been on treatment for a condition that made her shake tremendously and twitch every now and then (Philips, 2014). It is yet to be known whether the lady killed her children intentionally or it was unintentional but purely based on her condition. When the detectives came to pick her up, she innocently asked whether her children would also be following her to the police cells, yet she had already shot them dead moments before the cops arrived.
Being a smart lawyer, her attorney chose to use a psychiatric condition in proving that indeed the lady was insane by the time she committed the criminal offense. The only problem with the condition chosen by the attorney is that it could see the lady spend so many years in the psychiatric facility. Chances are also high that the lady can spend the rest of her life in the facility, all depending with the spirited fight that the attorney will make in the courts.
In the vent that the lady is found guilty of committing the offense, the jury might just sentence her to life imprisonment rather than death penalty due to her mental conditions. The jury can be of the opinion that the woman knew what she was doing when she killed her children since she bought the revolver three days before eliminated her children (Philips, 2014). The argument is also coupled with the word she told the police that she had become weary of her kids talking back to her. The defense through the experts can also argue that insane people also have the capability of making plans like the ones that were made by Schenecker. Maybe the judges will only have to prove that indeed she was insane enough to be pardoned by the courts.
References
Anna M. Philips (2014).For New Tampa mother accused of murder, insanity defense a long shot. Tampa Bay Times, 26 April, p. 1.
