What is the difference between medically insane and legally insane?

Answer 1

First, insanity is a legal issue, not a medical nor psychological one. Once you get the distinction, it's all a lot easer to follow. You cant have a diffierence because there is no way to compare apples and Oranges...Criminal law and pshchopathylogy are related; most of the people in institutions have real mental problems, but frankly, when one gets seriously academic: there is not such thing as medically insane, and legally insane is so rare that it serves mostly to give academicans something to write about. All of this is a reason one hears and sees so much that does not make sense on Television News reports: about people who just act craze toward other people and get in trouble with the law. It all makes sense from where one is standing: a prosecurtor who has instructions from a legislature who makes the laws that the prosecutor is supposed to pay atention to, and then a doctor, psychologist have other prespectives: and insanity is not one. Insanity is an absolute off the wall and total legal explination. I'm not about to say what it is or what it is not. For sure, it does not exist in medical experiences, and for sure it exists in law.

Answer 2

Insanity is a legal term that describes a person’s mental incompetence and moral responsibility. It is a legal concept that helps a court distinguish guilt from innocence. It has no specific medical meaning and there is no “insane” diagnosis in the DSM. It was used in the past to denote severe mental illness and psychosis.

Legal insanity is informed by psychiatrists who evaluate defendants and then submit written reports to the court. It answers such questions as whether the defendant can distinguish reality from fantasy, distinguish right from wrong, form intent, conduct his/her affairs, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.