Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneB
In the US if you can prove you are mentally ill, you usually are not held accountable for your actions. If it is a criminal case, you will be sent to a hospital or the prison psych ward. Here when you are mentally ill you can not be forced to seek help unless you are a danger to others or yourself. So there are a lot of people like Keith.
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Jane, This is not entirely true. There are degrees of mental illness in the USA. The defendant must prove that he/she does not know right from wrong to be absolved from all actions. Then the person would be locked up for their own safety. A mentally ill individual can still be held accountable for their actions as long as they know what they are doing and the outcome.