"To understand the insanity defense, it's necessary to understand
that crimes generally have a mens rea, or mental state, element. This
component requires that the perpetrator of the criminal activity
commit the crime with a specific mental intent, such as knowingly
committing a murder or recklessly killing someone with their car. For
some crimes, a negligent mindset is also enough for a conviction.
If someone is considered "insane," they are unable to form this
mental state because of their mental illness. As a result, the
prosecution is not able to prove all the elements of the crime, and
the defendant cannot be found guilty."
http://goo.gl/fkS0B (Findlaw)
Powered by LSoft's LISTSERV(R) list management software