Island Realty
4 East Ferry Wharf , Jamestown
Jamestown Contemporary Near the Beach
Jamestown ~ You can ’ t beat this location ... just up the street from Mackerel Cove beach and a short distance to town . This renovated home has a bright , contemporary interior . The first floor features an en suite bedroom , open kitchen with large island , great room with vaulted ceiling , and gas fireplace . Four additional bedrooms , including 1 en suite , are on the second floor . The finished basement , with full bath and separate entrance , makes the perfect guest space . There is an oversized 2 garage and a large outdoor shower . 5BR / 4.5BA $ 1,795,000 ( MLS # 1264714 )
Sales & Rentals � islandrealtyri . com � 401.423.2200
Experience Boutique Senior Living at Coastal Rhode Island ’ s Premiere Retirement Community
1ST PLACE WINNER BEST ASSISTED LIVING RI & CT
PRIVATELY OWNED & TRUSTED SINCE 1985
IN HISTORIC DOWNTOWN WESTERLY RHODE ISLAND
22 Elm St ., Westerly , RI • 401-596-4630 elmassistedliving . com
CityState : Reporter
incentives ,” says prominent criminal defense lawyer Robert B . Mann , who once represented Craig Price . “ We ’ re fighting yesterday ’ s battle . This will hurt a lot of people and make the problem worse . It ’ s not going to address the problem everyone ’ s upset about .”
At any given time , 16 percent of the prisoners in the Adult Correctional Institutions suffer from a diagnosed mental illness and are in treatment . But their psychiatric conditions don ’ t always figure into their adjudications .
“ When the courts are confronted with evidence of mental illness and you have a non-violent offender , you get sympathy ,” says criminal defense lawyer Thomas Briody . “ But when you get someone who has really harmed other people , the sympathy goes out the door .”
Insanity has been rarely employed as a defense , even in the most heinous crimes , says Charles Fischette , a Virginia lawyer who has written about psychopathy and the law . After John Hinckley was acquitted in 1983 of the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by reason of insanity , Congress and a number of states made the standard much tougher . Some states abolished the insanity plea altogether .
“ The defense is a difficult one — the test of legal insanity is too nebulous and too strict ,” Fischette says . “ Each jury has to decide for the community what it thinks are the borders of criminal behavior .”
Science isn ’ t even sure where they are . While there is a growing consensus that some mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder , which may lead to criminal behavior , have a genetic , biochemical or neurological basis , researchers are still teasing out the influence of environmental factors . Other disorders , such as sociopathy , describe a cluster of antisocial personality traits without ascribing their origin . Neuroscientists now theorize that psychopaths — individuals who appear normal and even charming but lack what might be described as a moral center — may have brains with abnormalities in the areas related to rewards and punishments , complex decision-making , impulse control and emotional processing . Psychopaths account for an estimated 15 to 35 percent of United States prisoners ; they offend earlier , more frequently and vio-
30 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l FEBRUARY 2021