I must say that the data I collected from this survey was all over the board. Some patterns that I suspected would arise did, while others did not appear at all. I must say that, having collected all of this information, I would have liked to sample a larger pool of people, perhaps with a greater balance amongst distinguishing factors. On that topic, I never realized how many small individuals may come into play when determining one's results. For instance, while no real patterns emerged across gender lines, I patterns did emerge between legally-educated genders. In addition, when factoring in one's psychological knowledge, a new pattern emerged. I would say that while patterns did appear in individual traits and how they may lean on a jury, the largest patterns emerged based on the type of case. I did suspect from the start that something like this would happen.
As I mentioned above, few patterns emerged around background information, something I was a bit surprised about. It seems that gender and age were not determining factors in one's inclinations. However, one pattern did emerge within this information. I found that amongst legally-educated individuals, males were disinclined to seek more information about the case before concluding whether a case was suited for the insanity defense. Women, on the other hand, were more inclined to seek more information, perhaps reflecting a true pattern amongst professional lawyers. While men may be impulsive and decisive, women are perhaps more likely to dig deeper into a case. For different cases, each might be better suited.
Aside from this pattern, nothing jumped out of the background information. However, a strong tendency was exhibited in the cases themselves and how they affected people. From the evidence collected, I can identify three themes. When a crime is particularly heinous, often involving mutilation, or involves behavior that is widely outside the realm of acceptable behavior (such as necrophilia), individuals are more likely to lean towards the insanity defense, likely believing that that the individual could not be in their right mind to commit such a terribly gruesome act. When ideology is a major factor in the crime, like if the criminal held radical beliefs or was a member of an extremist sect, individuals were not likely to resort to the insanity defense. Finally, when a crime is terribly horrendous and the ideology of the criminal can not be understood or, in some cases, fathomed, it seemed that individuals were quick to resort to the insanity defense, likely believing that the individual must have been in an "insane state" to have acted that way.
These patterns point to some interesting underlying social tendencies. It seems that when society is faced with a situation where the mind of the individual acting cannot be brought within the realm of comprehension, or where the act is so repulsively reprehensible, the individual is likely to be deemed insane. However, if the person holds a radical belief, they may be considered "weird" but not insane. I think a big issue surrounding the insanity defense is still its repercussions in society. For the extremes of the cases that I presented people with, the insanity defense was chosen a disproportionate number of times compared to what one might have expected. I feel this may reflect a tendency of our society to seek just punishment above considering the factors of culpability. In reality, every single case scenario given required more information, but only one individual indicated this choice for every case. This demonstrates people's' tendencies to make conclusions based on information given, perhaps assuming that all relevant information is provided, or, more disturbingly, perhaps hesitating before seeking information that may exonerate a person.
Overall, I was fascinated by the information collected. In some cases, it reflected what I suspected...but in others, I was very surprised. In any case, I do think that there is a general lack of knowledge regarding the insanity defense and what it truly means amongst those in society, something that I do see creates a stigma. Knowledge, of course, is the best solution!
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