“Should we hold somebody who acts out a crime during a mental health episode morally and legally responsible? I have a friend who relayed this story about her son. He was schizophrenic. During an episode he was found in a park throwing trash cans and upending tables. From his perspective, men were chasing him and trying to harm him and he was trying to get away. There were no men and it was all in his mind. During his throwing things he hit actual people. He was arrested. Should he be held responsible, either legally or ethically, for harming innocent bystanders? If so, why? Second. Imagine a new mother who has been diagnosed bipolar 1. During manic episodes bipolar sufferers cannot reason from moral principles. Their morality becomes hedonistic. During the episode she kills her newborn child. Should she be held responsible either legally or ethically? It seems to me that it would be cruel to hold either one legally responsible. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hospitalize them until they are not a danger to others, but to punish someone who couldn’t ethically reason their actions and truly appreciate the consequences of their actions is unjust. It doesn’t matter the severity of the crime. Mentally ill people who act unethically or illegally during an episode simply can’t be held responsible. They did not reasonably will their actions. Even to lock them in a hospital beyond what it takes to stabilize them would be unjust. Some would say the baby killing mother should be locked away forever. But I can’t understand how that can be justified. Once a person is stabilized why should we hold them? How does that fulfill justice?”