Contrary to popular belief, the insanity defense and temporary insanity defense is not often used. In a recent study posted in the states Bulletin of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law (Vol. 19, No. 4, 1991), the insanity defense was used in less than one percent of the cases in the representative sampling that consisted of an eight-state random selection of cases before their county courts. The study showed that about 25 percent of those insanity pleas were argued successfully and further emphasized that approximately 90 percent of those who employed the defense were diagnosed with a mental illness. Clearly, the implication of these figures shows that the insanity defense if rarely used by "fakers."

Thus, according to the rule, a person is basically insane if he or she is unable to distinguish between right and wrong as a result of some mental disability. The Irresistible Impulse Test excludes from criminal responsibility a person whose mental disease makes it impossible to control personal conduct. Unlike the M'Naghten Rule, the criminal may be able to distinguish between right and wrong, but may be unable to exercise self-control because of a disabling mental condition. Normally this test is combined with the M'Naghten Rule.

Biblical support of free will can be seen in the story of Adam and Eve. In story of Genesis, God created a perfect world for Adam and Eve to live in, The Garden of Eden, where they had no need for want or sin. Adam and Eve might have had no need to sin, but God gave them the ability to choose their actions for themselves. Both Adam and Eve were tempted by the Devil to rebel against God's commands and chose to sin. They made this choice of their own accord. This example of the Original Sin shows that when God first created humanity, He valued moral independence so highly that He gave humanity a sense of free will, despite knowing that they might choose to commit evil. It also reinforces the idea that humanity is responsible for its plight and the existence of evil in the world today. It forces humanity to hold itself accountable for the evil that exists in the world and it gives good reasons for why this evil exists.

Concerning the issues of the insanity defense, temporary insanity along with crimes of passion, ultimately, I feel that there can be many circumstances that interfere with our choices and actions but we all have the power to make choices for ourselves and learn from those choices. I am a believer in free will and I believe that we should all be responsible for our own actions. I also believe that early childhood experiences and heredity factors such as personality can have an influence on the choices we make. As far as I am concerned, I do not believe that I could ever get so angry that I would lose control of myself and if that did ever occur, it would be fair for me to receive the proper punishment under the law for whatever crime I committed. Regardless of my state of mind, I would still be "responsible" for whatever crime I committed because I caused someone's death or inflicted harm on someone else. It seems unfair for me to go unpunished for hurting someone else. Our choices are generally made out of love or fear. As we mature, hopefully, we can sift through our influences and sort out the love or fear involved in our choices.

The most viable defense for the crime of passion is that of provocation. As has already been mentioned, the common law definition of provocation provides that it is some act, which renders the accused so subject to passion as to make him, or her for the moment not a master of their mind. This is the closest the crime of passion is to being incorporated in the criminal justice system. The classic crime of passion is when a man catches his wife red-handed in the act of adultery. The law of provocation has always incorporated this into its principles, where it is held that this is one of the two non-violent acts that may legally cause pr

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