As a juror, would you consider alcoholism as a factor in the insanity defense?

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Absolutely not. I'm sick and tired of these S.O.B.s using the legal system and individual citizens trying to use alchohol as an excuse to have any kind of a lesser degree of sentence or charge brought against them when people die or get hurt. They make a choice to pick up that glass or that bottle. They're not born with something or have some chemical imbalance. Maybe it's exacerbated by the alcohol, but they make that choice and they should suffer the consequences. Just by drinking and having it affect them should not matter one iota if someone's killed or injured as a result of their actions. They should be treated as if they're perfectly straight and sane and sentenced accordingly when someone is hurt because of their hand or action. It's about time the hypocrisy in this country ends. With the war on drugs, people are kicked out of their jobs because of some kind of urine test, but with alcohol, everybody tee-hees and laughs about what they did over the weekend or last night and such and such. People shouldn't be doing anything. They shouldn't be doing any substance. But, of course it shouldn't be illegal. It should be their choice and they should suffer the consequences accordingly if they're found out.The answer to your tele-talk question would be no. I would not consider alcohol as another factor in an insanity defense. It seems like every time somebody has a problem, regardless of its nature, people can't be held accountable for their actions any more. I feel that if we went back to an eye-for-an-eye method you could eliminate a lot of actions that have taken place. There's too many people coming up with too many excuses for how and why something happened instead of just admitting that they messed up. You do the crime you should do the time. Center Conway.That is a very difficult question to answer. However, having done an extensive amount of work with a lot of psychiatric patients, I would find that alcoholism is indeed a factor, but not an insanity. Alcoholics suffer from a great inferiority complex and probably, this alcoholic took offense against the Frechettes because of their success and his own failure. He would have definitely killed them and shown no remorse. Alcoholics should be put in mental institutions and kept there until they are completely cured. Even then there's no guarantee that they wouldn't become violent again.There's stupid. There's real stupid and then there's this week's tele-talk question. Yes, I would consider alcholism a factor in an insanity defense. As a recovering alcoholic, I can tell you that during my time of active alcoholism I did many things under the influence that I would not normally do if I were sober. Many things I did. I never did anything to this degree, assault and stuff, but I did many things. Many places I found myself I would never be in that kind of predicament if I were sober. Yes. Absolutely. Part of our recovery programis admitting that you were in defense of alcholism and your life was becoming unmanageable. You came to believe that a power outside yourself would bring you back to sanity. Under the influence of alcholism I was definitely insane sometimes. So. Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. Anyone else who drank too much sometimes did things that they don't normally do if they were soberwould agree with me. Tuftonboro Neck.I would not consider the alcohol as a factor in the defense and I think Blomquist should get the death penalty. Any home invader who is a murderer it just happens that he didn't finish the job should receive the death penalty. Madison.Marie from Conway. No, I do not call alcoholism a factor in an insanity defense.I say Blomquist intended murder.Yes. I believe that alcoholism definitely causes insanity and it certainly causes very insane behavior. I also believe people need to accept responsibility for their actions and their behavior and deal with the consequences. However, the state's financial resources are certainly not going to be served any constructive, productive outcome by simply warehousing this person along with other violent offenders. Extensive treatment and psychiatric care is needed in combination with loss of freedom for there to ever be any return on the investment of warehousing this person for many years. The safety of the people involved with the offender needed to be protected, but the state's interests also need to be protected. This person needs a lot of help.My favorite thing in the whole wide world is that alcoholics always pull that.Jennifer from Kearsarege. I want to say that I would consider that as part of the insanity plea because the disease and alcoholism is considered a disease is considered to be a kind of insanity in how they behave and think and continue to do things over and over even expecting a different result. So that in itself is the insanity of the disease of being an alcoholic. By not being able to stop themselves the compulsion and obsession with drinking. It's considered a brain disease actually, as well. So it really does affect your brain completely. It affects how you think and feel and react to things and it's the insanity that goes along with this disease. I believe that that's what that person, who has just been found guilty, had.My favorite thing in the whole wide world is how alcoholics always pull that trump card about how "it wasn't my fault. It was the drink that made me do it" For years and years I've always been disappointed in people who can't take responsiblity for their actions and I don't think alcoholism had anything to do with Mr. Blomquist's stabbing his neighbors. The only bad part about the whole thing is when I was 17 years old, my house was broken into and the intruder tried to hurt me, as Blomquist tried to hurt his neighbors. The Frechette case that sense of security and feeling safe in your own home is something he can ever replace. To wake up in the middle of the night and have someone trying to kill you is something that can never be removed. The Frechettes lost that. Luckily, with faith and with each other they can make each other feel secure, but what he did to them he stole something away from them that he cannot replace. I don't think that a guilty plea is good enough. I don't think an apology is good enough. I think you should give Blomquist mental health help because of the fact that the normal person does not go next door and stab their neighbors.No. Not at all. In one way or another we're all a little nuts. We're all human. We've all got problems. He came to commit a crime as a criminal and as a criminal he should have been shot in the head the moment he stepped on the property. That would have been justice. The system has been set up so that criminal justice is only justice for the criminals thanks to smooth-talking lawyers, politicans and greedy towns who want government money to build prisons. What kind of justice did the Frechettes get? They were attacked by someone not afraid to go to jail, had to suffer again through a trial and then through taxes they get to pay for his room, board and medical expenses. How much money do we spend on people who break the law? Who profits from this court and prison system? They celebrated the opening of the prison in Ossipee Friday. When was the last time we spent $8 million for a housing system for the veterans, the elderly or the poor? We make people in the medical and fire and rescue squads beg and fight for money to help save lives, yet reward criminals who try to destroy lives. Why? To me that's insanity. I think Halloween goes on every day all year long in America. I look now and I see through the madness, the double-talk and personally, I've had enough. Terminate those who break the law and embrace those who obey the law.Cynthia White in Sandwich. As a juror I would not consider alcoholism as a factor in the insanity defense. Alcoholism is a disease, just like cancer or diabetes. Alcoholism has a remedy which is remarkably simple: stop drinking. Millions of suffering alcoholics have been relieved of their symptoms by going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and asking for help. Others who have preceded them guide them with their own experiences, hopes and strengths. It's not easy, but it's simple. Help is available. A suffering alcoholic can become a well-adjusted, contributing member to the community if he or she stops drinking. Help is available. While I can hope that Blomquist will get some help, I don't believe his alcoholism is any excuse for condoning his behavior.No. I would not consider it as a defense.This is absolutely the most detestable question you have ever printed. Does the Sun give the slightest thought to the possibility that the families involved in this unfortunate incident will want to put this behind themselves and start healing? It's not enough for the Sun that the jury found the person guilty. There is no need to evoke public response on this subject. This is just plain negative and hurtful. The most constructive things in your paper are your coverage of the high school and the academy and the crossword, which you manage to screw up sometimes. Your latest Tele-talk question has the stench of raw sewage. Chris in Conway.No. I wouldn't consider it. I believe that he's responsible for his actions, whether he's under the influence or not. He knows that when he starts drinking he's going to have a problem. He should be held responsible for whatever he does. If his brain deteriorated it's his fault and nobody elses. If he commits an act of violence it's still his fault and he should be held accountable. That's the way I feel.By itself the disease of alcoholism is no excuse or justification for idiocy, stupidity, drunk driving, anti-social or violent behavior. I think that the jury which convicted Blomquist in the knife attack against the Frechettes did the right thing. I hope the judge locks Blomquist up in prison for a long, long time. Dave in North Conway Hi. I think one of the key points in this whole trial is I never heard the word "blackout" come out. If he's claiming insanity and everything else most people would say, "Well, I had a blackout and I didn't know what I was doing. He basically seemed to know what he was doing. He didn't ever say that he didn't remember what he did. I know other trials come up for alcoholism and they claim they're in an alcoholic blackout. Someone's been murdered and they say, "Oh! I don't know how I did it. I can't remember doing it."I would not have been chosen as a member of the jury in the Blohmquist case for reasons to numerous to mention here. To take this a little off track, I'd like to say that I was sadly disappointed in the Sun's coverage of the trial. The sensationalized coverage (complete with descriptions of Blohmquists wardrobe) was a disservice to readers. Bruce Blohmquist's attorneys were clearly clutching at straws by suggesting an insanity plea. To link insanity and alcoholism without any medical or scientific rebuttal gives readers the impression that alcoholism can cause insanity. This is not at all helpful for the millions of recovering alcoholics who have to fight the stigma of how the public perceives alcoholism every day of their lives. There are a number of well educated treatment professionals in the area, who could have provided helpful, accurate information. You missed the boat on an excellent chance to provide an education on this important, and often ignored topic. Is Bruce Blohmquist insane? No. Is he an angry drunk with some possibly sociopathic tendencies? Yes. Does he know right from wrong? Yes. Is he responsible for his actions? Absolutely. Alcoholism is no excuse, if it were, the country would have an awful lot of insane people walking around. It sickens me the things that people try to get away with. If alcoholism were a valid insanity reason, why do alcoholics have jobs? Why are they allowed to take care of children? And why cant they receive Social Security? Nope. No way. It's time to face the consequences. We are taught in Alcoholics Anonymous that, although not responsible for what we do under the lash of active alcoholism, we are indeed accountable. Although alcoholism is a disease and a tragic one, the treatment is well known: Stop drinking. Alcoholics Anonymous has been amazingly successful in helping hundreds of thousands of alcoholics get sober and stay sober - at no cost. Bruce Blomquist could have been an Alcoholics Anonymous success story. Instead, he's a convicted felon not just because of his disease, but because he failed to make the tough choice to get help and get sober. Society removes dangerous drunks from our midst on a regular basis. Bruce Blomquist should be no exception.After growing up with alcoholism in my family, I do believe that alcoholism can cause a person to suffer from temporary insanity. There are many things people would do when they are under the influence that they would not normally do if sober, regardless of whether or not they are an alcoholic. Thank You, Lee-Ann Dill Connors.