For example, the insanity defense is a defense that is rarely used and rarely successful, but receives the most attention from media. In order to successfully use the insanity defense, the defendant must be judged legally insane, which consequently strips them from many of their political rights. The principle behind the insanity defense states that a person who lacks the mental capacity to form decisions based on right or wrong cannot be held legally responsible for their criminal acts. Each state varies in the legal standards that determine the sanity of defendants. Andrea Yates, was charged for capital murder in 2002 for drowning all five of her children. In 2006 Yates was acquitted after jurors found her not guilty by reason of insanity.
