From: utzoo!watmath!pcmcgeer Newsgroups: net.misc Title: Re: Replying about Hinkley Re: utzoo!Laura among others. Article-I.D.: watmath.3011 Posted: Tue Jul 13 15:51:09 1982 Received: Tue Jul 13 19:13:48 1982 References: rabbit.601 There is an old legal expression: *sixtifor*. The sixtifor is defined to be the key question in a case - the one whose answer determines the outcome of the case, or the issue. I suspect that rabbit!jj (rabbit.601) has asked the sixtifor. Clearly if the purpose of the law is to punish, then insanity is a valid defense - for who among us would punish a man simply because he is ill? On the other hand, if the purpose of the law is the protection of society, then the insanity defense is no defense at all. For sane or not, ill-intentioned or simply mad, the offender is the same threat to society: society is therefore concerned only with whether or ot he committed the act with which he is charged. Rick.