The Insanity Plea in the Case of a Serial Killer

Abstract

The authors comment on society's approach to criminal responsibility in the past and at present, and on the M'Naghten, the Durham, and the American Law Institute definitions of legal sanity. Some statistical studies concerning the frequency and success of the insanity plea in the United States are reported. The recent case of a serial killer, examined by the first author for the assessment of his legal sanity prior to his trial for fifteen homicides, is reported. This case raises insanity plea issues that fall outside the current American Law Institute insanity definition and the authors feel that it might contribute to further insanity plea reassessment in the years ahead.