Throughout the process of conviction and court cases, there comes a variety of different standards that are put into place, in order to make sure criminals are put to justice in ways that make sense. This is the most common of scenarios. However, this can change, if those convicted are believed to be mentally incapable of standing trial, which can be plead if one doesn’t believe they are either innocent or guilty. Individuals may make this plea themselves, or, in the case that the judge or the jury believes that the convicted falls along that criteria. This defense, while almost rarely used today, is critical, in order to provide fair and equal treatment for anyone who happens to find themselves in a court of law.

There are many different opinions regarding this defense. Proponents of the argument believe that, with enough evidence, allows those who severely need help are able to be provided with that help, specific to the extent of psychological or psychiatric impairment, and while this is entirely true, it isn’t always the case, as opponents tend to believe this defense is a means to allow criminals to be released on charges that range from shoplifting to full blown manslaughter. The morale is often challenged, considering the fact that there are often times exceptions to this defense that work against whoever happens to be using it. The term ‘insanity’ itself is a very broad term, legally, because there are vast differences from each psychiatric disorder, both in how it affects patients, and what comes out of these afflictions.

A modern case study comes from that of James Holmes, who opened fire into a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado back in 2012. While the motives for this case are to this day still unknown, evidence found gives a bit of insight on what might have gone on in Holmes’ mind before the shooter, as journal entries written by Holmes himself showcases pretty disturbing content. Without getting down into the nitty gritty details, Holmes appears to be very apathetic about the way society and the world looks. The theme of death and humanity appear quite often in his writings, which  could lead one to believe that yes, maybe there was a touch of depression, however, often times during such a state, one is still mentally in control of their behaviors, without regard to more serious cases, typically ones ending in depression induced psychosis. While psychiatric evaluations were complete, in order to gauge Holmes mentality, the further notes he had taken down describe how the shooting was to take place, even going as far as to describe the ETA of police officers, depending on his location. It’s disturbing to think someone would put so much effort into planning the deaths of innocent civilians, which typically is the case in mass shootings. The insanity defense is very tricky in that there are many factors that can and cannot dictate how we view someone as, quote, ‘insane.’ While one can be mentally incapable to stand trial, Holmes eye for detail really shows that he knew what he was doing, down to the last second, and knew how he was going to carry everything out, something one typically doesn’t have should they meet the requirements of this defense.

Scientifically, this defense helps allow for psychiatric advances for criminal behaviors. What causes them? Is there any correlation between a certain ailment, and a certain crime? Are we really meant to judge the criminally insane, when they’re not completely ‘there,’ in a sense? The human brain is extremely fascinating as it is complex. While it has already been proven that there are in fact specifics in the brain that often times make for these criminal behaviors, being able to classify each sickness to its victim, and finding appropriate treatment or punishment is key, in order to keep things in the legal system with some level of morality. As a societal whole, giving those who wouldn’t necessarily have the chance to obtain such a substantial amount of treatment for behaviors that harshly inflict everyday living is key. The US legal system has many advantages as it does flaws, especially in the gray areas revolving around psychiatric disorders and how the affect criminals. Having the knowledge to determine what makes sense to do in what situation is an advancement, as too many people are getting off with charges lesser than their actual crime, for reasons that make absolutely no sense. Yes, it’s imperative that every potential inmate have a fair trial, the outcomes are sometimes less than beneficial.

http://czyborra.com/pedofiles/sexuologen/brain-tumor.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/11/opinion/cevallos-insanity-defense/

http://law.jrank.org/pages/7666/Insanity-Defense-THERE-NEED-INSANITY-DEFENSE.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/from-the-notebook-of-james-holmes-movie-theater-shooting-trial/2/

Attached is a more informal look at this defense.

Aside from the benefits of having a lifelong companion, having a dog holds a lot of unexpected perks as well. To start off, a common issue with owning a pet happens to be allergies that are triggered through dander and fur, and while this is true for a lot of families, those who happen to have smaller children with a dog actually have a greater chance of not having these allergies. This is because of the exposure to these allergens from an earlier age allows the body to adapt to having them within it’s system. The child is young enough to have a buildup within their immune system, which cancels out the negative effect that an allergen can have when first entering the body, as they become quite literally immune to it. This isn’t the case for every animal, however, as cats actually have the adverse effect.

Dogs are also known for provoking happiness in many people. Petting, playing, or even simply looking at a dog triggers the brain to release a chemical called oxytocin, which inhibits an elevated mood. These levels are increased, causing a happier outlook. The same can be said for walking a dog in order to combat stress. The act of physically moving releases endorphins, a natural pain-killer which assist sleep and in turn helps sleep and lowers one’s stress. Aside from the physical aspects of it, playing with an animal is typically an enjoyable experience, which in turn generally proves to be something worthwhile in doing.

Another fun fact about owning a dog comes in the form of the immune system. As dogs are made up completely differently than humans, their bodies are made up of different bacteria types, which can vary from the bacteria found within the human body. Now, while this may sound like a bad thing, these bacteria can be passed through to their owner. This allows the immune system to create a variety of different antibodies, usually increasing the amount in the system overall, which is a good sign, as an increase in this mechanism allows one to get sick much less. Studies have shown that dog owners are less likely to get sick than their petless counterparts.

Placing this into the real world, dogs have a pretty high standing. Because of their stress reducing qualities, symptoms of depression and anxiety can be lowered for individuals  suffering from those disorders. Even suffers of depression or those with suicidal thoughts have a reason to stay alive and get active on days that appear to be too much to handle. Walking dogs can improve heart health, and can lower the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure, which lowers the chances of future heart attacks. Emotional support dogs and seeing eye dogs are beneficial to those with vision problems, or those who have emotional disabilities, and can prove to be quite useful in these situations. Dogs can also be social object, as different breeds can often be used as a conversation starter, allowing those who wouldn’t normally socialize to have the chance to do so. Did I mention how adorable dogs are in general?

This relates back to myself in a lot of different ways. While I’m not a dog owner myself, I do have a guinea pig, which could technically be considered the same thing. Having a dog would greatly improve my emotional and social life, as well as allow me to be more physically active, as playing with a dog isn’t a super intense workout, but provides just the right amount of physical activity. The dogs I know are already extremely friendly and really entertaining. All of this, plus every other benefit really makes getting a dog a great addition to future plans! Not only are they extremely cute and cuddly, but they provide a lifetime of really awesome benefits!

Alleyne, R. (2010, September 29). Pet dogs reduce allergies in children, but cats increase them. Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/8032594/Pet-dogs-reduce-allergies-in-children-but-cats-increase-them.html

Hoffer, S. (2011, July 13). Study Shows Pet Ownership Has Psychological Benefits. Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/pets-psychological-benefits-study_n_897022.html

O'Connor, A. (2013, May 09). Owning a Dog Is Linked to Reduced Heart Risk. Retrieved April 07, 2016, from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/09/heart-association-weighs-in-on-pets/?_r=0

Confidence is key. You may start out completely hating what you do. You might rip it up, throw it away, and try to start over again. It doesn’t mean you’re a bad artist, or your work isn’t the absolute best it can be. You have to keep trying. It won’t always come out perfect in the end, but it’s how you see it is completely different than how it may perceived in the outside world. I had a lot of trouble this time around, because I constantly kept doubting what I could do. In the end, creating art shouldn't be about how much skill you have. It should be fun. You shouldn't stress so much about how amazing it turns out, because overall, being able to create something that others could enjoy is actually pretty epic.

Sources Cited:

Not Cool. Dir. Shane Dawson. Perf. Shane Dawson and Cherami Leigh. Netflix, 01 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

Analytical Essay:

      In the words of Chinese Philosopher, Lao Tzu “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow.”  Life has a multitude of change, which most of the time is almost unavoidable. Something leads to change, then the person affected by the change  is left to process what happened. It is not the easiest thing to do, especially if the change is formidable. The fact of the matter is, Bartle is almost forced into a changing world. Things happen that aren’t always ideal, and the more one thinks about it, man is merely a small piece in an even bigger picture, and no matter how hard one tries, the reaction is never going to be a good one.

Things happen all the time. It’s a fact of life people have come to accept. It’s not always good, but it isn’t always terrible. Kevin Powers explores this in his book, The Yellow Birds, a story set through the duration of the Iraq war. “And you can’t explain it, but, it’s just, like, fuck you, but then you signed up to go so it’s all your fault, really, because you went on purpose so you are in the end, doubly fucked, so why not find a spot and curl up and die and let’s make it as painless as possible because you really are a coward.” Some of the worst things that can happen to someone is dealt by the person themselves. Often times dealing with a sudden change  is carried out with the best intentions in mind, however, as quickly as the world can change, so can everything in it, and the ultimate reaction to all this can be pretty shocking. The world isn’t a nice place, especially if one gets too caught up in all the small things.

Reacting to change can almost be fitted into stages. Someone can either react with some deal of emotion, or with none at all. In this circumstance, its more or less a personal struggle, rather than something against whatever change is occurring. “The closer I got to reconstructing him in my mind, the more the picture I was trying to recreate receded.” This quote, taken from Bartle, describes his process of attempting to recollect his memories after coming home from the war. When things slowly begin breaking down, and Bartle begins attempting to process what  happened, everything else begins distancing from whoever him . This is dangerous in an ever changing world, because when someone finds themselves so caught up in previous events and ideas, they’re almost slipping away from what's actually going on, ignoring whatever change may be happening.

Sometimes after situations such as this, one becomes desensitized with the rest of the world. Forgetting everything else in favor their own feelings. “At one time you could of asked me if I thought the snow meant something. I would’ve said yes. I might have thought there was some significance to the fact that there had been snow on the day that Murph had come into my life and snow on the day I willed myself into the one that had been taken from him.” Once things begin changing, it almost seems like nothing else begins to matter.Bartle’s world changes after the death of his best friend. Small things, things that he never really paid much attention to slowly became a trigger to him. Things he barely looked at became something of detachment.

Kevin Powers associates most of his writing toward generating a genuine recollection of what happens during wartime. That being said, the relationship between both past experiences in real life, and through the war, are almost parallel toward the idea of change. I've always had a certain level of comfort with the dark part of the human experience. It hasn't had an attraction, but it has certainly had a fascination.”

Change often brings a variety of difference into a situation, and these experiences aren’t always so bright. The dark part of human experiences that the author is talking about relates back to how one can react to the change in the rest of the world.

Works Cited for Analytical Essay:

Powers, Kevin. The Yellow Birds: A Novel. New York: Little, Brown, 2012. Print.

Lewis, Tim. "Fiction: Meet The Author." TheGuardian.com. The Guardian, 23 June 2013. Web. 11 Jan. 2015. <www.theguardian.com%2Fbooks%2F2013%2Fjun%2F23%2Fkevin-powers-interview-yellow-birds>

Narrative

In my opinion the real world is terrible, and I’d rather not deal with it at all.   Considering the fact that I’m always one incident away from full blown insanity, I try to change whenever I feel necessary, rather than changing with the rest of the world. Life is too short to try and keep up with small things. You’re either moving whenever things feel right, or you’re caught up in something you’ll end up forgetting later.

And that’s how I figured out I was manic-depressive.

For me,the  only real worldly changes that have to be looked out for are whether or not someone is still going to be there five years from now or how badly an episode is going to affect anyone else. I can’t react to a constantly changing world, because that’s another source of anxiety and bad feelings in and of itself, so I’d rather not worry about something thats going to cause me pain in the end.

Then there are small moments that aren’t the epitome of being completely miserable. Those idealistic pieces of memorabilia aren’t easily found, but once they do, everything changes, and for one day, everything feels alright, and in those moments, you can feel amazing. You can do anything, and nothing can make you feel any less real. That’s called mania.

But hey, who said it’s not okay to feel subsequently human?

I digress, really, depending on how bad the situation, sometimes things are easier to bounce back from, but as a whole, to put it lightly, life has quite literally made me it’s bitch, and there’s nothing I can do about it. The insanity was never my fault, but it didn’t bother me anyway.

Let the rest of the world change, I’m perfectly fine in my own little bubble.

But you wanted to know how it feels like, right? Waking up in the morning realizing you’re the very thing that makes you hate your own reflection, and every ounce of love someone ever had for you is now gone because you’re unstable, and cut up arms are always prettier than soft ones.

Let’s reiterate one last time. I’m finished with the rest of the world. Things can change, but I won’t.

But’s that’s just my illness talking.

And that’s also what happens during the lower parts of the depression, which is almost like the ‘world,’ changing me, if that makes any sense. I react differently to certain things than others do. I say things that other people may find unusual. This is because I had to grow up much faster then most people.

It’s no one’s real fault, because when you’re born, your parents aren’t, (hopefully,) sitting around you saying how much they’d like to see you suffer. But sometimes someone does something stupid. And that stupidity grows into something much larger, and because you’re already impressionable, you’re holding all of that in, until you reach a certain age and look back at your life. Then you realize that something went wrong, and that you’re no longer the only thing you’re supposed to keep safe. Because sometimes, those monsters that your parents told you never existed, suddenly become real. And they’re everywhere, but nobody can make them go away. And the rest of the world sits back and judges you for not being able to let go of things that aren’t real to them.

But you really aren’t crazy. It’s the world’s way of protecting yourself. It keeps you safe, even if you’re doing stupid things. You learn that you’re actually not a good person, and because of that, nobody loves you. And you know what? It’s okay to feel these things. You just can’t hurt yourself over them, or life sucks even more than it used to. You’re actually a half decent person when you’re not threatening to kill yourself every five minutes.

You just can’t let the monsters of the world tell you otherwise.

People have a variety of ways to handle a difficult situation. In most cases, people rely on a traditional support network, like religion, family, or friends. However, the circumstances may call for help from another, not generally thought of source. In these cases, people generally feel alone, and afraid to come to peace with themselves. Teenagers especially, have found a new way to cope with difficult and stressful periods in their lives. Through song lyrics, concerts, and social media, modern day musicians can ultimately save people’s lives.

The biggest connection that someone going through a difficult situation can make is through another person, who has faced similar circumstances, and has had a successful outcome. In this case, song lyrics can be the large piece in finding a connection, even though the singer or band is not physically present to comfort them.  Some bands even create their music with a struggling audience in mind. Post-metal core band, Pierce the Veil, shows this, during an interview about their song, ‘Bulls in the Bronx.’ When asked why the song was written, frontman Vic Fuentes, responded, “Many of our fans reach out to us and let us know the effect our music has had on their lives. We never take this lightly, and it’s important to us to make music that hopefully in some way helps people get through darker times.”  They aren’t looking at them as just another fan. They generally care about the music they write, and want something good to be taken away from it. Whether it be giving someone hope after a suicide attempt, or providing a method of distraction to prevent an act of self harm. These musicians can sometimes be someone’s only support. Another song, from the very same band, ‘A Match into Water,’ displays this within the first few lines of the first verse. ‘ I kissed the scars on her skin, I still think you’re beautiful, and I don’t ever wanna lose my best friend. I screamed out God you vulture, Bring her back or take me with her.” While it isn’t extremely apparent until the chorus, the song implies a suicide, as well as self harm attempts, and the feelings that come afterward. Having someone pour their emotions out into a song is one thing, but having it actually relatable is a completely different

As humans, feeling a sort of comfort within ones own skin is something most wish to acquire, but isn’t a task easily done. Sometimes, it’s more about how someone feels about themselves, rather than what they think about others around them. The popular social media outlet, Tumblr, is especially known for this, considering both musicians and their fans use this to spread the message that they’re never alone . That being said, some of the most influenced, through music, share their stories. A fan posted on a blog dedicated to follower’s favorite music genres “I became a Black Veil Brides Army soldier on January 20th 2012 and ever since then, slowly but surely I’m getting over my self consciousness. They taught me its ok to be weird and abnormal as long as you just be you.,. Certain people within the music industry can really help people figure out who they are, in a personal sense. Specifically with the band, Black Veil Brides, one of the biggest things that set them apart from others in the same genre, is their appearance. Whether it comes to the typical heavy eyeliner, to full on face-makeup and black lipstick, the band believes that no matter what, no one should ever feel ashamed of who they are. “I had a goal, I had a dream…and at the end of the day no matter what people say to you as long as YOU know who you are as a person NOTHING in else in the world matters,” lead singer, Andy Black said in an interview. The band’s message is simple. No matter what, no one knows who you are, but yourself, and no one can take that away from you.

The support isn’t limited to just songs,  or the lyrics. Sometimes, it can simply be something said to an audience, that makes them want to move forward. Like most bands in the metalcore, punk, and pop punk genre, the support that band members give to their fans is immense. Specifically, in this case, Austin Carlile, from metalcore band, Of Mice & Men. “Be your own person because no one can ever take that away from you, no one,’ is the message he spreads to his fans. This follows suit with the last context. People working in this industry don’t care about how many people buy their albums. They want to make a difference in peoples lives. Helping others through their music, and their words, and even their own lives. Giving themselves a greater sense of fulfillment more than anything else.

Band members can also show support through bigger causes. To Write Love on Her Arms, a non profit organization based upon helping individuals who struggle with self harm , has a wide variety of bands that promote the cause through music. Hayley Williams, lead singer of Paramore, uses this influence in her song, Oh Star. “And I won't let you fall away, From me, You will never fade And I won't let you fall away, From me.” This quote signifies that regardless of the situation, the circumstances, or how bad things may be going for someone, she, as a person will always be there for them. Having gone through issues herself, Hayley’s songs bring a sense of security for fans who struggle with coming to a stable emotional state.

Whether it’s meeting fans in person, interacting on social media, or putting out songs to help a certain situation, music, and the artists behind it have a strong impact on those who listen. Through seemingly small actions, bands members can ultimately save fans lives.

Works Cited:

"Pierce The Veil: Explanation of What Inspired "Bulls In The Bronx"."Piercetheveil.net. Tumblr.com, 12 July 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://piercetheveil.net/post/27353338110/explanation-of-what-inspired-bulls-in-the-bronx>.

Re: Bands Save Lives." Web log comment. Bands Save Lives. Tumblr.com, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://bandssave-lives.tumblr.com/tagged/black_veil_brides>.

Lopez, Miguel. "Austin Carlile Quotes." Success Fortress. Sucessfortress.com, 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://successfortress.com/austin-carlile-quotes/>.

Kemba. "To Write Love on Her Arms: The Music." UpVenue. UpVenue, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2014. <http://www.upvenue.com/article/1568-to-write-love-on-her-arms-the-music.html>.

Rakasha. "Black Veil Brides Quotes." Fanpop. Fanpop.com, Jan. 2012. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

<http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/black-veil-brides/articles/156555/title/black-veil-brides-quotes>