Criminal logo

The Insanity Plea

Does this defence take justice away from victims?

By Destiny DavidsonPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
Like

Have you ever watched a news story of something so terrible, and said to yourself, “We’re so lucky to live in a community where that doesn’t happen.” I, for one, am guilty of that. However, on August the 10, 2018, our luck ran out.

I woke that morning to reports of an ongoing active shooter situation on our city's north side, and the first though that popped into my mind was whether or not my boyfriend’s mom was on the scene. Long story short, he told me that she was one of the first officers to respond to the call. We pushed that aside and began to talk about our plans for later that day, but little did we know that our worlds were about to be shattered.

I began to see comments on social media stating that there were now four casualties, and one had said that two of those were police officers. Despite knowing that it was all likely just speculation as nothing had been officially reported yet, I texted my boyfriend’s mom anyway, asking her if she was okay. When I didn’t get a response, I assumed it was because, well you know, she’s on the scene of a crime and all.

Ten minutes later, my boyfriend called, and ever since that day I have replayed that call in my head, over and over. It was a 37 second phone call but it felt like a lifetime. His mom, Cst. Sara Mae Burns, had been shot and killed by the active shooter upon her arrival at the scene.

You see, Cst. Burns had worked the night shift and was getting ready to come home to her family at seven o’clock that morning. When the call came in at 7:09, she was the first one to gear up, get back into her squad car, and head to the scene. She knew someone needed her help, she knew that her community was in danger, and she knew that her job was to serve and protect. But what she didn’t know, was that being a hero would cost her her life. Two civilians and a second police officer were also killed that day.

Despite the pain of losing her, despite the pain of watching my boyfriend go through such a heart-shattering loss, and despite the pain of knowing that she could have just come home that morning rather than responding to that call, life has moved forward. The hardest part now, is knowing that the man that did this will likely never see a jail cell.

The court process is slow; the shooter has already been deemed fit to stand trial, but was ordered to undergo a 60-day psychiatric evaluation to determine whether or not he is criminally responsible. This is twice as long as the average 30-day evaluation, and in his most recent court appearance just eight days ago, a second 30-day evaluation was ordered as the first was inconclusive.

Do I think he’s criminally responsible? Absolutely. I have sat back and watched his mannerisms in his first few court appearances. This man has absolutely no remorse for what he has done, however he admits that he knows what he did. He also claims that he has “evidence that will completely exonerate him,” and that his addiction to first-person shooter video games clouded his mental state at the time of the crime.

What angers me the most is the fact that he could very well be found not criminally responsible, and that acts as a sort of “get out of jail free” card. In many criminal cases where the accused is found NCR on account of mental disorder, they’re ordered to spend time in a psychiatric facility where they will undergo treatment. Once treatment is said to be complete, whether it be two years or 10 years, generally these people are then let back out into the community with a prescription and a councillor.

I personally feel that whether you have a mental disorder or not, you have still committed a crime, and should therefore be sentenced in the same way that any other person would be. If the man who killed my boyfriend’s mom gets to walk free in five or six years because he’s deemed to be sane again, that is not justice. What would guarantee that he would not stop taking his medication, attending counseling, and go on another killing spree?

Nothing.

And so I ask you, do you agree with the insanity plea?

guilty
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.