Mental health is an extremely complicated defense for many reasons. One reason is because psychology is an inexact science and human behavior is extremely complex. When pleading an insanity defense, defendants must be able to prove to the court that they didn’t understand what they were doing. They must have either failed to know right from wrong or acted on an uncontrollable impulse.
Mental health defenses
There are a few different mental health defenses the defense can use:
Competency
When using competency as a defense the court focuses on the defendant’s mental limitations at the present time, not during the time the crime was committed. If the defendant is not competent then the government cannot prosecute them. If the judge ever has a reason to believe that the defendant is not competent, they will order the defendant to be evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist. The person evaluating the defendant will then prepare a report outlining their opinion on whether the defendant is competent. If it’s the professional’s opinion that the defendant is not competent, they must also state their opinion on whether they will regain their competency in the near future. The court can also hold a competency hearing where the judge hears evidence from the attorneys and other experts and then makes a decision.
Criminal responsibility
Criminal responsibility defenses or an insanity defense focuses on the defendant’s mental status at the time of the crime. To claim lack of criminal responsibility, the defense has to provide the court with pretrial notice that this defense will be used in the trial. If the defendant is found not guilty after the trial by lack of criminal responsibility, a secondary evaluation will be made to determine if the defendant can be treated or if they are a danger to society. A hearing is then held where the defendant will try to show that they are not a threat and should be sentence to treatment.
Photo by Thomas Kriese
