Robert Peel Quotes

...it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing was wrong; or, if he did know it, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong.

What makes someone too mentally ill to be executed? There is no clean answer to this question. But the attempt to answer it consumes substantial resources. If capital punishment had a demonstrable impact on crime, it might make sense to struggle with such a difficult balancing. But any deterrent effect is trivial at best, so the effort devoted to these decisions is wasted.

If you commit a big crime then you are crazy, and the more heinous the crime the crazier you must be. Therefore you are not responsible, and nothing is your fault.

It would be an outrage against civilization if he were sent to jail for an act which was the product of a diseased brain

I think everybody who commits a violent killing is in some way crazy. But that doesn't mean we can let them off the hook for that.

To punish madmen is as great folly as to sympathize with their condition

We have an insanity plea that would have saved Cain.

We are all born mad. Some remain so.

Shakespeare wrote all there is that we need to know about dementia in 'King Lear.'

There is only one difference between a madman and me. I am not mad.

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too much. I can see myself doing it. In England, one feels all the social restraints holding one back. But here, anything can happen.

The definition of insanity in Texas is so insane that it's impossible to be insane in Texas.

I don't really trust a sane person.

There's a fine line between genius and insanity, as we all know.

The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite insane.

He has committed the crime who profits by it.

Insanity is often the logic of an accurate mind overtasked.

I'm not a madman.

There's a big difference between sanity and insanity.

We're never gonna get rid of crazy people. They've been around for thousands of years - they'll continue to be around; they'll continue to do horrible things.

I proved to my own satisfaction that I am madder than I think.

... the work of lunatics.

Lunatics with money in America are never mad–just eccentric.

It (masturbation) is called … ‘beastliness’, and this is about the best name for it…. Should it become a habit, it quickly destroys both health and spirits; he becomes feeble in body and mind, and often ends up in a lunatic asylum.

Our job is to incarcerate offenders and not hospitalize sick people…. We are reluctant to advocate better mental help facilities within our jail as it would only attract more people in need of mental health services