Insanity Defense

Abstract

Insanity Defense has always been the centre of attention of the law makers as well as criminals and the general citizens, mainly because of the importance of this law as well as the misuses imparted by the various agents. A number of cases form the basis of Insanity Defense, and the paper seeks to inquire the strength of insanity defense and the power it allots to the applicant, however, it is mainly confined to the Manitobe Court of Queen's Bench in the year 2006 referring to the case of R. v. Borsch. Borsch is the primary legal point in Canada, as the universal application of this law exceeds to range of this paper.

Introduction

Insanity Defense mainly deals with the benefits and strengths gained by an individual on the basis of insanity and the legal freedom that insane individuals have. The paper mainly revolves the case of R. v. Borsch. The case has gain the position of central legal point in Canada and it mainly deals with the identified and known annals of the posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and also the dissociative sign, that has been used as the basis and foundation of insanity defense and has been providing protection to the insane individuals since then. Thus, the Borsch case would be utilized as the major model and the foundation of the matter and the same would be used to highlight some essential matters and issues regarding PTSD, which can be used as a positive defense in certain lawless individual cases.

Discussion

In order to get an understanding of the issue and to deal with the matter effectively, it is essential to have some background of the case. Roger Borsch was basically a fighter who is known for assisting in Bosnia for a period of six months, from May to November in 1994. It was during the same period that he claimed viewing the mayhem that led to the development of PSTD, and thus the same issue forms that basis of the case. Borsch was involved in sex assault of a 13 year old female in 2004, when he broke in her house while she was sleeping and got hold of her at knife point. Borsch threatened the female that she would lose her life in case she shouts and makes noise, and also stripped her mouth lock to avoid any such condition. It is eminent to mention here that that victim was the young daughter of a jail guard at the time when Borsch was also serving as guard in the same jail, and therefore the assault was planned and victim was not random or accidental (R. v. Borsch. 2006).

After the assault was conferment and Borsch was convicted, he claimed that this was the result of his distracted and disturbed mental condition, which arouse by witnessing mass killings and murders in Bosnia ten years before the sexual assault, and thus he is not in the perfect mental health condition. He also stated that he witnessed a number of assaults and other cruel ...