A court may find a criminal defendant found to have been legally insane at the time of the commission of a crime not guilty. This form of defense is known as an insanity defense. Sometimes, courts might find the criminal defendant still guilty, but give him or her light sentence due to their mental impairment. Some states allow insanity defense, but the defendant must prove they did not understand what they were doing during commission of crime. They can also demonstrate that they acted uncontrollably on unreasonably due to mental health issues. However, in recent years, insanity defense has come under increased scrutiny especially in homicide cases.
One of the most famous criminal defendants who pleaded insanity defense was John Hinckley. Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Donald Reagan. During trial, he pleaded insanity defense, and the result was the judge sent him to a government psychiatric hospital instead of prison. Before the attempted murder, the accused demonstrated mental instability and certain obsessions, which the defense used as evidence of poor mental health. The case attracted attention to the insanity defense, leading congress and states to enact stricter rules to govern this form of defense. Some people thought that Hinckley had escaped justice or the court did not serve justice in that case. Although troubled, Hinckley mental status did not appear especially dire to warrant the conclusion he was insane. However, based on past cases, the accused was clearly mentally unstable (Levin, 2016). Today, it is much harder to win a case by pleading insanity especially in homicide cases.
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Another case involving the insanity defense was that of Lorena L. Bobbitt. In that case, the prosecution accused the defendant Lorena L. Bobbitt of cutting her husband’s penis in a domestic quarrel. After presentation of evidence, the jury returned a verdict that Lorena L. Bobbitt was temporarily insane and therefore not liable for malicious wounding (Frost, 2018). The defense lawyers argued that her husband abused and raped her regularly, and the nightmare of such suffering, combined with mental illness, led him to attack and wound him (Margolick, 1994). This case also highlighted the controversial insanity defense.
In the case of Jonathan Schmitz, the prosecution accused him of fatally shooting Scott Amedure. The dispute between the two men arose after Scott Amedure, an openly gay man, openly expressed sexual interest on Schmitz, who was heterosexual. The incident embarrassed and enraged Schmitz prompting to kill Scott Amedure (No mental illness defense for Schmitz, 1996). Defense lawyers argued that the defendant could not be held accountable for this action due to his mental status. They claimed he suffered from a thyroid disorder that made his behavior irrational and violent. The court initially found him guilty of second-degree murder, but on appeal, the higher court reinstated the sentence.
The three cases demonstrate an evolution of the insanity defense. English courts initially started to accept this form of defense way back and American courts adopted this defense. However, following the acquittal of the man who tried to murder Reagan, the conditions are tighter for a defendant to plead this defense. Therefore, while the earlier cases of John Hinckley and Lorena L. Bobbitt succeeded, Jonathan Schmitz’s case failed. The court found that the grounds presented by Jonathan Schmitz were weak. Apparently, the embarrassment Scott Amedure caused the accused triggered him to plan a murder, which made it premeditated to some extent. Although the circumstances of the case show a provocation, in which the accused was responsible. In law, provocation often leads to lessened responsibility. The court sided with the excuse of provocation and some mental instability hence the sentence of twenty years. However, despite the criticisms, the insanity defense is legitimate in certain cases.
References
Frost, N. (2018, June 14). Lorena Bobbitt's 12-Inch Knife Changed Awareness About Spousal Abuse. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/news/lorena-bobbitt-case-cut-husband-john-bobbitt-spousal-abuse
Levin, A. (2016). APA Backs Insanity Defense After Verdict in Hinckley Trial in 1982. Psychiatric News, 51 (13), 1-1. doi:10.1176/appi.pn.2016.7a5
Margolick, D. (1994, January 22). Lorena Bobbitt Acquitted In Mutilation of Husband. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/22/us/lorena-bobbitt-acquitted-in-mutilation-of-husband.html
No mental illness defense for Schmitz. (1996, July 09). Retrieved from https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/07/09/No-mental-illness-defense-for-Schmitz/1324836884800/
