Opinion ID: 1363141
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The trial court erred, as a matter of law, in prohibiting defendant's counsel from stating the reasons why defendant left Fulton State Mental Hospital.

Text: The trial court gave the following instruction: NO. 11 You are instructed that while the law of the State of Kansas provides that insanity may be a defense to a criminal charge, there is no evidence in this case of such insanity on the part of the defendant. You are further instructed that confinement in a mental institution is not evidence of insanity which would constitute a defense to the charges in this case, and the sanity of the defendant is not to be considered by yourselves in arriving at a verdict. Prior to the commencement of trial, defendant filed a notice of intent to rely on an insanity defense. This was apparently abandoned during the trial. Defendant testified at great length, however, as to his stay at the mental hospital in Fulton, Missouri, where he had been confined under court order. This hospitalization continued until defendant escaped therefrom, said escape occurring shortly before the crimes herein. Defendant also referred to prior psychiatric hospitalizations. He apparently was anxious to convey to the jury what he considered to be inhumane and poor treatment he received at the hospital. This line of testimony presumably was aimed at showing good cause for leaving the facility and equally good cause to avoid return to the facility. Much of his testimony rambled and lacked direction. The jury could well have concluded defendant was suffering from some type of psychiatric problem. Under the unique circumstances of the case, the instruction was not error. It served to clarify to the jury the law of Kansas as it applied to the sanity of the defendant in this particular case. Without the instruction the jury could very well have been confused as to how the evidence of defendant's psychiatric hospitalization should be considered. The other issue relating to the hospitalization was the propriety of the trial court's refusal to allow defense counsel to state the reasons defendant left the hospital. Defense counsel complains that this restricted defendant's theory of the case as it provided a reason for his hiding out in Wichita and his interest in evading the police, which was separate and apart from the State's position that such efforts were to avoid apprehension for the crimes herein. The court specifically permitted argument on the fact defendant, as a result of the hospital escape, was a fugitive and did not want to return to the hospital. No error is shown in so limiting the closing argument of defense counsel.