The Plea Of Mental Insanity Is An Open Invitation For Others Too To Kill

It is becoming obvious that the vogue among some of Ghana's lawyers is to claim their client, put before court for attempted murder or murder, is mentally unstable and therefore should not be held for the lives they have taken!

In less than seven months, at least three cases of murder and attempted murder have seen Defence lawyers putting up the defence of mental insanity in a bid to get their clients off the hook. Will this kind of defence not be tantamount to give others license to kill since they can get off the hook by having their lawyers plead that they are not mentally stable?

How can a man who is not mentally stable take a knife, go to a particular house, make his way to his victim's room in a manner only professional killers do and kill the person?

It is strange that a mentally unstable person would be of no harm to himself or to his immediate family but is able to make his way to another person's house, make his way to his victim's room, kill him, know how to escape and keep quiet about the crime for some days. Has a person with unstable mind do things so methodically? How did he know exactly where his victim's room is? How did he know exactly how to get into his victim's room when he has not been there before? How was he able to elude the security man? So, this mentally unstable man knew he did not have to make any noise after he entered the house to avoid being caught?

We on the 'Daily Post' view the plea of mental insanity by our lawyers for their clients as an invitation to others too to kill. After all, they can be gotten off the hook with pleadings of mental insanity.

Yes, suspected murderers deserve to be represented in court. They must be given the opportunity to defend themselves. That is their right which must not be taken away from them. But we expect our lawyers not to exploit the law in such a disingenuous way to get persons plotting to kill and those who are suspected to have actually killed fellow humans off the hook if they are truly guilty. Precious lives have been needlessly taken. Wives and children have been left traumatized. Some may not overcome it for the rest of their lives. Let us not cheapen the precious lives that have been heartlessly and needlessly cut short by people who have no regard for human life by resorting to this mental instability mantra. Life is precious! It is not like new yam, which when buried, will sprout new! Let us not begin to breed a new generation of killers with such inferior tactics to get those who have killed or attempted to kill off the hook!