![]() The defendant-a friend of the victim-broke into the victim’s residence that he shared with four others, while the defendant was dressed head to toe in ninja gear. Jennings, a man was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and felonious assault. Let’s check out an example from Columbus. If you can convince the jury that you had a severe mental disease that made it so you couldn’t tell that what you were doing was wrong, then you might have an insanity defense. So, whether someone has a “mental disease or defect” that is “severe” is really just a question of evidence. And usually, you’ll have a doctor or some expert testify as to the state of your mental condition. After you plead NGRI, the court will usually order your examination by a doctor and make that report available to the defense, court and prosecution. What counts as a “mental disease or defect?” And when is it considered “severe” enough?įirst, you still have to prove through evidence and persuade the jury that there is a 50.1% chance that you’re insane. Obviously, a “severe mental disease or defect” brings up a lot of evidentiary issues. Under ORC § 2901.01(A)(14), you are not guilty by reason of insanity if you can prove that you didn’t know, “as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, the wrongfulness of actions.” (Let’s call “not guilty by reason of insanity “NGRI.”) You have to plead NGRI at arraignment, where the judge formally reads your charge in the courtroom. Ohio uses what is known in legal jargon as the M'Naghten Rule. ![]() More recently, Kansas decided to get rid of it entirely as a complete defense. After John Hinckley was acquitted for the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, outraged organizations and vocal citizens made it be known that they were totally against that kind of result. In recent years, the insanity defense has been met with a lot of controversies. While they’re punished, they are subject to confinement in a mental institution rather than just letting them off of the hook entirely. But what is “insanity?” Essentially, if you have a form of mental illness that substantially affects your actions and capacity to commit a crime, then you can be excused of committing that crime. It’s pretty fundamental to criminal law that if someone is insane, then they’re not totally responsible for their actions.
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