Every now and then a case arises in which the accused confesses to a crime, but the defense tries to argue that at the time the accused was not of sound mind. This case is no different; the court knows that the accused is guilty, the only aspect of which it is not sure is the punishment that this murderer should receive. The State is seeking prison time and strongly believes the defendant was of sound mind at the time of the murder. It is almost impossible for the defense to prove its 51% burden of proof. The State asserts that the defendant was criminally responsible at the time of the murder. Using excessive exaggeration, premeditation, and motive, the Prosecution will prove that the accused knew exactly what he was doing and how wrong it was. In an age where just saying you hear voices is enough to be called crazy, claiming that hearing certain things made it very easy for the accused to have an "excuse" to fall back on. Hearing voices isn't the only thing the defendant exaggerates about. He goes in-depth talking about his sense of super hearing, for example, being able to hear both heaven and hell. “I have heard all things in heaven and on earth. I have heard many things in hell” (Poe p. 1245). He also said that he could hear the old man's heart beating. Throughout its history there are many exaggerations. The defendant also speaks of being able to remain perfectly still for over an hour while holding a lantern. “For a whole hour, I didn’t move a muscle. . .” (1246). It is humanly impossible to stay perfectly still for more than an hour, especially while holding a lantern. If someone attempted this stunt, they would only last fifteen to twenty minutes before giving up from exhaustion. These exaggerate... middle of paper ... other than as soon as they claim to hear voices or claim to have killed someone because they didn't like the look of a person's eyes , they can get away with it. on a lighter sentence. The accused planned all of this, and if everything goes as he planned, the murderer will be released from a mental institution after a short period of time instead of being locked up for the rest of his life in an institution psychiatric. other criminals as he deserves. If this person were crazy, they wouldn't have mentioned anything about the old man's fortune if it was so unimportant that they would never have mentioned it at all. The States believes the defense failed to prove the 51% burden and that this man should be convicted and sent to prison before he kills anyone else and uses "insanity" again as a excuse. Works Cited Edgar Allen Poe, Tell tale Heart