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Except people found "not guilty for reasons of insanity" can get weekend passes from their care facilities... https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2026/08/man-found-not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity-in-fairfax-co-killing-flees-on-one-way-flight-while-on-hospital-pass/
I think there's a problem if we think a insanity verdict is a lesser sentence, instead of a heavy sentence where you are still locked up, and additionally subject to medical treatments against your will.
I think the main issue is that the system HAS to make a binary determination that either makes the person completely irresponsible or completely responsible, and only has imperfect expert testimony to go on to make that determination. Everything flows from the fact that we have to make a hard choice, and the perverse incentives are inevitable in that context.
Sure, the current system does. But as philosophers here, we could muse about alternatives. What about a fractional responsibility regime?
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Correct, this binary distinction is precisely what I'm talking about in my other examples.
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