Mozz - // AH//It's an interesting cultural attitude that we now have as a society - that people who are judged to have mental issues are inevitably seen as using those issues in order to escape responsibility for their actions.//
I didn't say it was an excuse for the girls' behaviour, I meant that it will be seen that the authorities are crying "Mental illness" to cover for any controversial decisions they make in sentencing or prisoner care. //
I was careful to refer to 'society's attitudes to be clear that I was not suggesting that it was a view you held personally - clearly you do not.
I don't honestly believe that the authorities use the notion of 'mental illness' to cover themselves in the even of any future events - I believe that the exploration of mental issues in order to attempt to explain behaviour is a complex process, and is only used as a reason for directing treatment rather than incarceration, when exhaustive tests have been completed by several highly qualified professionals who will agree that an element of mental incapacity is evident.