Diminished Capacity Defense - Essay Example

For a defendant to be considered a person with diminished capacity, they must demonstrate a reduced mental capacity. This could be from a disease, mental retardation, or substance abuse. Anything that keeps the person from determining right from wrong can be a cause for diminished capacity (http://law.yourdictionary.com/capacity).

Defense
To prepare a legal defense for a person suffering from diminished capacity, I would begin by documenting the cause of the diminished capacity. If the defendant was a steroid user, I would create a history of steroid use. How long have they been taking them? Where did they come from? Why did they start using them?
I would then research the possible effects of steroid use to prove that steroids can affect a person’s mental capacity. Once this has been researched, I would connect the effects of steroids and the person’s crime to show that the defendant was not able to distinguish right from wrong during the time of the crime. I would have to prove that the defendant was experiencing the effects of steroids at the time of the crime.

It would also be pertinent to have an expert on the effects of steroids as a defense witness during the trial process. As the paralegal on the case, I would research experts in the field to select the best one based on the defendant’s crime.

Opinion
In terms of diminished capacity, I think there should be two different levels. One is for people who truly have a mental issue such as developmental delays or mental retardation and one level is for those who choose to purposefully alter their mental state by using substances.
I agree that if a person has a diminished capacity due to something that has altered their state of mind, they should still be convicted. I also like the idea that they will be convicted of a lesser crime. That seems fair to me.
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