quote:
Originally posted by perigee:
One of the principles of justice in Western legal systems is "innocent by reason of insanity". From the behavior described in the case of Tsutomu Miyazaki there is probably grounds for such defense. While we all abhor such gross acts of depravity, there is reason to apply different standards to people who are truly not responsible for their actions.
I don't think he was criminally insane. I think he knew that what he was doing was very wrong, as his behaviour shows. That he was doing sick and twisted things that most people would never do, doesn't automatically mean that he is not responsible for his actions. The way he hid the bodies, strangled the girl who started crying in his car... he knew that what he was doing was wrong.
As an example, take war. People can get themselves to do the most horrible things in a war, things that people under normal circumstances would consider gross and inhuman. Are they all suddenly insane? Are they unaware that they are doing something terrible to other human beings? No. But they can justify it to themselves, either as duty, or that it's because they are enemies, or any number of different reasons.
Doing sick and twisted acts doesn't automatically remove your responsibility for your own actions.
You could say he was "insane" in that he did what most people can't even imagine doing. But he was not insane in the sense of believing that what he was doing was good and right.