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The problem is that "sane" is a legal definition, not a medical one. Doctors can't and don't catagorize people as sane or insane. It's left up to the courts to decide.
In my opinion, there are clearcut cases where someone committed an act under duress of their own making, i.e. John Hinkley, Jr. shooting Reagan to impress Jodie Foster. There's a homeless guy here in Chicago who was profiled in a series of stories in the Tribune because he went around punching random women in the face when he was off his medication because he thought they were attacking him with their minds. Clearly both of these individuals have issues that force them into behaviors that they wouldn't otherwise exhibit with the intervention of drugs, therapy or both.
From personal experience, I know that there are some people who can recover from debilitating mental illnesses and become productive members of society. Crimes committed by the truely mentally ill should not be punished so much as treated aggressively, IMO, and treatment/monitoring should be maintained longterm. The homeless guy that I mentioned doesn't need to go to jail where he's only going to be sicker when he's released and maybe kills someone. He needs to be treated.
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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - B. Franklin
"There ought to be limits to freedom." - George W. Bush
"We have met the enemy and he is us." - Pogo
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