Miss Santos does not dispute the facts in the case. What we are arguing is the cause. For this to be considered a crime, we need more than the fact that it happened. We also need to determine why. To determine that a person has committed a crime, we have to know that he or she had the intention of committing that crime. If you commit a crime, you do so by making a choice, which implies that you have free will. If you do not have free will, you should not be held responsible for your actions, even horrific actions. You probably recognize this in the idea of insanity. If a person is insane, we do not hold him or her legally responsible because we know they do not understand the meaning of their actions. If we punished them, they would not understand what it was for, either, but just as much as this is true, we do not punish the insane because we know it would be cruel. Punishment is not revenge. Our system does not include the idea of revenge. It is intended to achieve justice, not vengeance, and this means that the person being punished understands why.
A person who is insane is subject to what philosophers call determinism, because his choices are being
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