What is the difference between "true crime" and mental illness?

[wuushew]

With the spate of death penalty threads recently, I am reading often support for executing people who have done very heinous felonies such as child rape etc.

However since many people who commit these crimes are compelled to by psychological factors have they actively chosen to commit a crime?

A crime in my opinion is only capable of being prosecuting when someone aware of the legality of situation activitly seeks to commit a crime. A perfect example is Enron style corporate crime which is committed by people of high intelligence and who have premeditated the possiblity of breaking the law.

If a person is unable to be deterred by capital punishment by virtue of mental compulsion both the crime prevention and the following retributtion aspects are ultimately fruitless.

I am aware that this does not reflect most of those on death row, but it does describe quite a few. What is your opinion on the psychological/physiological aspect of crime?

[thebaghwan]

1. I work in the legal field as a paralegal, and I believe the long held test

is whether you know that the crime you committed was wrong. You can be nuttier than a fruitcake, have all kinds of people attest to very bizarre and unuusal behavior, but if you know that the criminal act that you committed was wrong, you are not insane by the definition.