Q. 1: The Defendant’s Competence to Stand Trial
No, the defense team feels that the defendant is not competent to stand trial. This is because Mr. Stu Dents must have been suffering from delusions at the time of the commission of the alleged crime. From the evidence obtained in the Journal entries containing references to aliens, God, and the end of the world, it is argued on the defendant’s behalf that he was suffering from some mental defect which made him have a deluded feeling that killing was a way of “fulfilling his destiny.” Moreover, the defendant’s combative, irrational, and agitated behavior at the time of his arrest points to some disease of the mind or defect of reason.
Q. 2: State Requirements for Proving Insanity
In the state of California, the Penal Code 25 PC provides the requirements for proving an insanity defense by a preponderance of the evidence. The first requirement is that the defendant must have been incapable of understanding, appreciating, or knowing the quality or nature of their act while the second requirement is that the defendant must have been incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong at the time they committed the alleged offense. These requirements are based on the famous M’Naghten case which listed a disease of the mind or mental defect as requirements for proving insanity (Weinberg, 2015). The Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions also contains similar requirements for the insanity defense.
Q. 3: Steps to be Taken to Prove Insanity
According to Rule 12.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the steps that must be taken to prove insanity are notice of an insanity defense, notice of expert evidence of mental condition, mental examination, failure to comply, and inadmissibility of withdrawn intention. As the first step, the rule requires the defendant intending to prove insanity to notify the state attorney in writing and undergo a mental examination. The defendant is then required during the arraignment hearings, to prove that they are not guilty by reason of insanity due to a mental disease or defect which made it impossible for them to convince the jury that at the material time, they did not know that what they were doing was wrong.
References
Weinberg, W. (2015, March 31). The insanity defense in California. Retrieved from https://www.californiacriminaldefenselawyerblog.com/2015/03/the-insanity-defense-in-california.html
