Opinion ID: 1993454
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Jury Finding Regarding Sanity.

Text: In his second assignment of error, McGhee argues the district court erred in finding that he was sane at the time he killed Lowry. Nebraska follows the M'Naghten rule as to the defense of insanity. The test of responsibility for crime is a defendant's capacity to understand the nature of the act alleged to be criminal and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong with respect to the act. [10] For an insanity defense, the insanity must be in existence at the time of the alleged criminal act. [11] A defendant who pleads that he or she is not responsible by reason of insanity has the burden to prove the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. [12] The verdict of the finder of fact on the issue of insanity will not be disturbed unless there is insufficient evidence to support such a finding. [13] Gutnik testified that in his opinion, McGhee did not know the difference between right and wrong and thought that in killing Lowry, he had done a good deed and expected people to pat him on the back and say way to go. Gutnik further testified that while McGhee understood that putting a gun to Lowry's head and pulling the trigger would likely result in injury or death to Lowry, McGhee nevertheless thought he was acting in self-defense. Martin, on the other hand, testified that he believed McGhee knew his actions were wrong and that such was evidenced by the fact that McGhee to some extent attempted to cover up his actions. An appellate court does not resolve conflicts in evidence, pass on credibility of witnesses, evaluate explanations, or reweigh evidence presented, which are within a fact finder's province for disposition. [14] By rejecting McGhee's insanity defense, the jury clearly believed Martin's testimony that McGhee knew that his actions were wrong. This court will not revisit that finding. The record contains sufficient admissible evidence for the jury to conclude that McGhee was not insane at the time he shot Lowry. As such, McGhee's second assignment of error is without merit.