Insanity Defense
Contrary to popular opinion, getting acquitted of a crime by reason of insanity is harder than you might think. In most states, you either have to prove you were so crazy that you didn’t know right from wrong, or that you were so crazy that you didn’t really understand what you were doing, e.g., you thought you were slaying a dragon when you actually murdered some innocent bystander. In Washington, it’s harder still. There, you have to prove that you were sane enough to douse your victim with gasoline to cover your tracks, and the person in charge of your loony bin has to be insane enough to think that sending you on a day outing to the local fair is a good idea.
September 22nd, 2009 at 9:36 pm
[...] Freaky. Not being a law-talkin’ guy I’m not sure if the ruling is good law or how likely this is to stand on appeal. Paging Instapundit, Countertop, and XRLQ! [...]
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:27 am
In addition to the post M’Naghten common-law mandated insanity defense of being unable to distinguish right from wrong, there’s also the (much more limited) “irresistible compulsion” insanity defense, in states still following the old model penal code. If you can demonstrate that you’re screwed enough in the head that you couldn’t resist lighting the old lady on fire, you get a state-paid visit to the fair, too.
It’s gone out of vogue, perhaps thankfully (California pulled it in 2002 or 2003, even).
Whether the individual in question can be demonstrated to have an irresistible urge to assist a murderous madman kill a clone is up to the viewer to describe.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:29 am
In addition to the post M’Naghten common-law mandated insanity defense of being unable to distinguish right from wrong, there’s also the (much more limited) “irresistible compulsion” insanity defense, in states still following the old model penal code. If you can demonstrate that you’re screwed enough in the head that you couldn’t resist lighting the old lady on fire, you get a state-paid visit to the fair, too.
It’s gone out of vogue, perhaps thankfully (California pulled it in 2002 or 2003, even).
Whether the individual in question can be demonstrated to have an irresistible urge to assist a murderous madman kill a clown is up to the viewer to decide