March 31, 2015, 14:49
Floyd L. JenningsNGRI Defenses
In view of the several high-profile cases where insanity claims were raised, it may be salient to review
Bigby v. State 892 S.W.2d 864 (Tex. Crim. App. 1994) wherein it is very clear that the mere presence of even a severe mental illness does not insanity make. Moreover, understanding of "wrong" means the person's awareness of what the larger social community would say about his/her act. Measures of such apprehension would be
res gestae statements as well as statements made incident to a custodial arrest, as well as behavior. The implication is that it may
sometimes wise not to strongly oppose a diagnosis, if well attested, but to focus upon the elements of sanity as discussed in
Bigby.