i dunno. i kinda think that even -some- people who kill people get NGRI'd should be released, eventually. i mean...if someone had a downward spiral, ended up shooting somebody, turns out they were teetering on the edge of psychosis for a while, nobody helped...why keep them indefinitely if they -can- be treated and they -can- be rehabilitated? i read a 1st hand NGRI account from a lady in another state...downward spiral, 2 or 3 short lived marriages, not a -bad person- , just sick...got ever more sick...ended up shooting a stranger because of paranoia or something, I dunno. anyway, it sounds like the state hospital wherever she was kept her for 10ish years, she got out, she can deal with things now, and I'm thinking...

well, I'm OK with it. I think. beats locking her up in prison for 30 years and expecting her to function in that environment, then somehow function in society with minimal support. of course, if US prisons were revamped to be more about rehabilitation vs creating more clever, hardened criminals...

maybe the treatment vs prison debate wouldn't be such a big deal, anyway? undoubtedly, there are some people who just should not be in society. hospitals, prisons, whatever...its risk management. that doesn't mean prisons should be hell holes, even for people with long sentences. of course...state hospitals can be hellish, too....worse in some areas than others, of course.

blah. honestly, this discussion has taken a turn for the horribly depressing. :-(