Opinion ID: 878340
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Delusional Defendant

Text: In addition to asserting that the insanity defense is a fundamental constitutional right, the appellant contends that insanity is a broader concept than mens rea. Korell argues that individuals may be clearly insane yet also be capable of forming the requisite intent to commit a crime. For example, an accused may form intent to harm under a completely delusional perception of reality or act without volitional control. It is defendant's position that the due process of these defendants is compromised by state law which permits conviction of delusional defendants and those who act without volitional control. Addressing the delusional defendant first, we note that planning, deliberation and a studied intent are often found in cases where the defendant lacks the capacity to understand the wrongfulness of his acts. Fink & Larene, In Defense of the Insanity Defense, 62 Mich.B.J. 199 (1983). Illustrations include the assassin acting under instructions of God, the mother drowning her demonically-possessed child, and the man charging up Montana Avenue on a shooting spree believing he is Teddy Roosevelt on San Juan Hill. Defendant contends that these people could properly be found guilty by a jury under current Montana law. As some commentators have noted, the 1979 amendments to the law on mental disease or defect may actually have lowered the hurdle mentally disturbed defendants must clear to be exculpated. In order to be acquitted, the defendant need only cast a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors that he had the requisite mental state. See, Bender, After Abolition: The Present State of the Insanity Defense in Montana, 45 Mont.L.R. 133, 141 (1984). As a practical matter, the prosecutor who seeks a conviction of a delusional and psychotic defendant will be faced with a heavy burden of proof. Assuming the delusional defendant is found guilty by a jury, factors of mitigation must be considered by the sentencing judge in accordance with section 46-14-311, MCA. The fact that the proven criminal state of mind was formed by a deranged mind would certainly be considered. In addition, a defendant can be sentenced to imprisonment only after the sentencing judge specifically finds that the defendant was not suffering, at the time he committed the offense, from a mental disease that rendered him unable to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law. Section 46-14-312(1), MCA.