Fortunately, being insane and
criminally insane are not equivalent.
Understanding the Insanity Defense
Legal Tests to Determine “Insanity”
“Insanity” is a legal term that presupposes a medical illness or defect but is not synonymous with “mental illness,” “mental disorder,” and “mental disease or defect.” “Mental illness” is a more encompassing term than “insanity,” and thus, a person can be mentally ill – medically speaking – without
legally being insane. Five tests of insanity have been applied at one time or another.
The M’NaghtenTest – Colorado Follows the McNaughton Rule
To establish a defense on the grounds of insanity, it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind,
as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing; or if he did know it, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.
The M’Naghten rule focuses exclusively on cognitive disability.
Under this rule, a person is insane if, at the time of the criminal act, he was laboring under such a defect of reason, arising from a disease of the mind, that he
(1) did not know the nature and quality of the act that he was doing; or (2) if he did know it, he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.
This test requires total cognitive disability and does not allow for degrees of incapacity and nor does it recognize volitional incapacity in which a person is aware that conduct is wrong yet cannot control* his behavior.
* IMO, this is where LS's alleged disassociative identity disorder (multiple personality/identities) falls flat and is guaranteed to fail her. She wants us to believe she could not control her alter ego persona. MOO
Free Consultation - Call 303-627-7777 - H. Michael Steinberg aggressively represents the accused against charges in Criminal & Crime cases. Understanding the Insanity Defense - Denver Criminal Lawyer
www.hmichaelsteinberg.com