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Criminal

Aug. 3, 2012

Common misconceptions on insanity defense

There appears to be a misconception that the more sophistication that is used in the commission of crime, the less likely that the person is insane.

Louis J. Shapiro

Email: LouisJShapiro@Gmail.com

Louis, a former Los Angeles County Public Defender, is a criminal defense attorney and State Bar-certified criminal law specialist out of Century City. He is also a legal analyst, board member of the California Innocence Project and Project For The Innocence at Loyola Law School, CACJ and LACBA'S Criminal Justice Executive Committee.

How could James Holmes be able to say that he is not guilty by reason of insanity if he was able to plan everything out so thoroughly?

There appears to be a misconception that the more sophistication that is used in the commission of crime, the less likely that the person is insane. Actually, one does not preclude the other. Someone can be living in a delusion for quite some time and so long as during that period of time he or she could not appreciate the difference between ri...

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