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Mental illness and the insanity defense
Mental illness and the insanity defense
Mental illness and the insanity defense
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Warren Burger is a man that persevered and strived to make something of him. He came from a home where he had to work at a young age to help support his family and not being able to go to the college of his dream. By working hard and persevering he graduated from law school and made something of himself. Warren Earl Burger was born September 17, 1907 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was the first of seven siblings born to his parents, Joseph Burger and Katherine Burger. Warren became interested in law when he was sick for a year, which he missed school. While warren was sick he decided to read some law books and biographies on historical American figures. In 1925 he graduated high school from John A. Johnson High School, in which his desires were to attend Princeton. “Unable to attend Princeton because of his family's limited resources, Burger took courses at the University of Minnesota for two years and then enrolled in a night law school.” In 1931 he earned a law degree from St. Paul College of Law. In which after obtaining a law degree he soon joined a law firm to start his career in law. He practiced law in the St. Paul for more than 20 years and was very active in Republican politics. In the 1952 presidential election Warren Burger helped Dwight D. Eisenhower become president, which after being elected president D. Eisenhower elected Warren Burger as head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. As head of the Justice Department's Civil Division, he was in charge of 180 lawyers. Three years later, after handling many cases for the government, Eisenhower promoted Warren Burger to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. As in this high of position warren wrote many papers on criminal cases. Later in 1969 presiden... ... middle of paper ... ...rown out. Ford v. Wainwright (1986) was the case in which the United States Supreme Court upheld the common law rule that the insane cannot be executed. Alvin Bernard Ford was convicted of murder in 1974 and sentenced to death in Florida. While on death road, Ford’s mental health started diminishing. Later being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, believing he was the pope and being a part in a KKK conspiracy. This caused him to be examined and they soon found out that he was suffering from many mental disorders including psychosis. With American common law reasoning that executing the insane does not serve any purpose. The Court made a finding that the Eighth Amendment states inflicting capital punishment upon insane persons is illegal. Works Cited (http://www.notablebiographies.com/Br-Ca/Burger-Warren.html) (http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/weburger.htm).