INSANITY
DEFENSE
State v. Bechard Somerset County Superior Court Skowhegan, Maine
Mr. Bechard was charged with two counts of
murder and two counts of attempted murder secondary to his attacks on the
residents of a nunnery. Expert testimony
by Dr. Charles Robinson established that Mr. Bechard lacked the substantial
capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions. He was found not criminally responsible. The role of delusions and hallucinations (and
the differentiation of the manifestations of these symptoms from the
manifestations of alleged substance abuse and anti-social personality disorder)
were keystone elements in the expert testimony.
Defendant's
Attorneys:
Walter Hanstein,
Esq. Farmington, Maine (207) 778-2959
Michaela Murphy,
Esq. Waterville, Maine (207) 873-0781
(See also newspaper article "Doctors relate tales of madness in Bechard trial")
State of Maine v. Kigas Penobscot County Superior Court Bangor, Maine
Defendant Kigas starved to death her young
daughter over period of five weeks.
Defense expert Robinson demonstrated that the Defendant lacked the
substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions because of
hallucinations and delusions suffered by the Defendant. These hallucinations and delusions caused the
Defendant to believe that she was pregnant with a child fathered telepathically
by Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny and that she was being tormented by devil
worshipers in her apartment complex.
These symptoms caused her to
believe that her child was possessed by evil and could be delivered back to God
only in death through starvation. The
Defendant was found not criminally responsible.
Defendant's
Attorney:
Perry O'Brian,
Esq. Bangor, Maine (207) 942-4697
(See also newspaper article "Tonia Kigas found not guilty")
State v. Roberts Kennebec County Superior Court Augusta, Maine
Mr. Roberts had acknowledged the shooting
death of his best friend in the course of a night's drinking. The State alleged that the shooting was an
act of anger and sought conviction for murder.
Defendant's expert Dr. Charles Robinson testified that the crime scene,
Roberts' history and witness statements were all consistent with a failed
suicide attempt the victim tried to foil.
Roberts had a history of such attempts designed to bring about his
"rescue" and thereby validate his right to live. In remarkable compromise, the jury found
Roberts not guilty by reason of insanity.
He was discharged from in-patient psychiatric care six months
later.
Defendant's
Attorney:
Robert
Sandy, Esq.
Waterville, Maine (207)
872-7727
State v. Kerrigan Androscoggin County Superior Court Lewiston, Maine
Defendant Kerrigan, after terrorizing
people at a party at the home of a friend, was engaged in a roadside shoot-out with
law enforcement officers. The Defendant
had a history of mental illness and psychiatric hospitalization and raised the
defense of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.
Prosecution expert Dr. Charles Robinson provided testimony counter to
that of the defense expert witnesses.
The plea of Not Guilty by Insanity did not prevail.
Prosecuting
Attorney:
Craig
Turner, Esq. Lewiston, Maine (207)
784-1397
State v. Dedekian Kennebec County Superior Court Augusta, Maine
Defendant Dedekian was charged with the
suffocation death of her infant son. The
defense retained Dr. Charles Robinson as an expert. At the conclusion of each of two contested hearings,
the defense prevailed in their assertion that the Defendant was incompetent to
stand trial. After four years of in-patient
psychiatric treatment, the patient's competence was attested to by Dr.
Robinson. At sentencing, the Judge
ordered the Defendant to serve a six year term of probation to the satisfaction
of her treating psychiatrist.
Defendant's
Attorney:
John Pelletier,
Esq. Augusta, Maine (207) 622-6161
State V. Ramsey
Waldo Superior Court
Belfast, Maine
Ms. Ramsey was found Not
Criminally Responsible by Reason of Mental Disease in the
suffocation death of her infant son. The jury found in agreement with Dr.
Robinson’s
testimony, that Ms. Ramsey post-partum depression had rendered her psychotic
thereby
substantially incapacitating her ability to aspirate the wrongfulness of her
actions.
Defense Attorney:
John Pellitier
Augusta Maine
(207)622-6161
State V. Austin
Kennebec Superior Court
Augusta, Maine
Ms. Austin brought about the
death of her four year old daughter over the course of
a three day psychotic episode. She was found Not Criminally Responsible by
Reason of
Mental Disease which rendered her incapable of appreciating the wrongfulness of
her
actions.
Defense Attorney:
John Pellitier
Augusta Maine
(207)622-6161
State V. Bowie
Penobscot Superior Court
Bangor, Maine
Mr. Bowie lived alone with
his aging father. The defendant became increasingly
paranoid in regard to his father’s
behavior. In a delusional state he hammered his
father to death, berried him
in the snow and covered his head with hubcap. Defense
expert Charles Robinson PHD
evaluated the defendant and found that he lacked the
substantial capacity to appreciate
the wrongfulness of his actions. Mr. Bowie was
found not criminally
responsible.
Defense Attorney:
Walter Hanstein, Esq.
Farmington Maine
(207)778-2958
State V. Kelly
Somerset Superior Court
Skowhegan, Maine
Mr. Kelly was a combat
veteran of the Vet Nam war. He began experiencing
flashbacks and delusional
believed that he was engaged in a combat situation. He
alluded authorities for
several days in the Maine winter but was
ultimately
apprehended. Defense expert
Charles L. Robinson PHD explained his behavior as a
result of his PTSD and
Co-morbid psychiatric condition. He was found not criminally
responsible for his conduct.
Defense Attorney:
Anthony Shusta
Madison Maine
(207)696-8445
See also the online publications:
FILICIDE: BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL AND PROFILING CONSIDERATIONS
FILICIDE: MOMS WHO KILL THIER CHILDREN
ABNORMAL CONDITIONS OF MIND: A FORENSIC OVERVIEW
OBSERVATIONS ON COGNITION AND INSANITY
AGGRESSION AND INSANITY: DETERMINING THE CAPACITY TO APPRECIATE
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