Oh, we've all seen those shows. The defendant is pushed into a corner, he/she's so obviously guilty, and then suddenly they announce that they weren't in their right state of mind when they did what they did. Dramatic music plays in the background, and then cut to a Burger King commercial.
However, like most of the legal stuff/stuff in general that you see on TV, this is highly inaccurate. First and foremost, a psychiatric hospital is just about as fun as prison, especially if you're sane.
Secondly, acting like you're crazy in the court room, does not prove that you weren't in the right state of mind at the time of the crime. You must prove that you were mentally impaired in some way at the time you committed the crime, which is extremely difficult to do. Three states in the US have actually banned the insanity defense all together.
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