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Notes -
Can someone give me a steelman of the popular pro-Lindsay Clancey argument? I’m not really talking about the defense, whose argument is a complex justification for why she medically and legally qualifies for the insanity defense. I’m more asking about the people online arguing that she is a victim and her being prosecuted/this situation is an example of sexism. My wife told me about the case and is very anti Clancey. ChatGPT also gave what I felt is an unsatisfactory steelman. I don’t have a theory of mind for her supporters, and wish to rectify that.
The strong argument is basically:
Some crimes shouldn't result in a "guilty verdict" because of mental illness.
Lindsay had one of those illnesses at the time of the murder therefore she was not "responsible."*
Which illness she had is a bit vague - post-partum psychosis and bipolar have been passed around as possible explanations.
The weaker argument is basically:
The weaker argument is far more common than is in any way acceptable. It is also very stupid. The strong argument is very strong and is the rule of the land - not guilty by reason of insanity is a thing and should be a thing. If it applies to her case or not is a technical discussion, which is causing problems.
*There are very specific rules for this and this really should be the case. "I have borderline personality disorder, a DSM recognized mental illness, therefore I can get away with murder" ...we have decided that's bullshit, and that seems a reasonable decision. "My grandma got sent to jail because she attacked her nurse because her UTI made her temporarily crazy" is also bullshit and not sending her to prison is a good decision for society.
**A side game here appears to be liberal, privileged white women who cannot imagine a woman would do something bad for any reason. For them it seems easy to imagine a man killing his kids but a woman.
The problem with this is that women's behaviors have historically been attributed to "mental illness" to a far greater degree than men's, and this disparity has been widely criticized as sexist against women due to the negative impacts it has on women. To fall back on that defense in this case because it is beneficial smells a lot like women wanting to have their cake and eat it too.
Because female hysteria is a real thing. That our society chooses to pretend women are as mentally/emotionally strong and healthy as men doesn't invalidate that.
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