Psychiatric News (3/30) reports that last week in a 6-3 ruling (pdf) in favor of the state in Kahler v. Kansas, “the US Supreme Court ruled…states can prevent criminal defendants from pleading insanity without violating their constitutional rights.” Both “experts in psychiatry and the law said that the decision could have significant consequences.” Paul Appelbaum, MD, “a member of APA’s Committee on Judicial Action,” said, “The most immediate impact of the case is on Kansas and the four other states that have elected to effectively get rid of their insanity defenses. Their laws will remain valid.” Meanwhile, “Debra Pinals, MD, chair of the APA Council on Psychiatry and Law,” stated, “Persons with serious mental illness who engage in criminal behavior living in states with narrower criteria for insanity, or in states with no insanity defense, will likely be found guilty and sentenced.”
Related Links:
— “Supreme Court Upholds States’ Rights to Nullify Insanity Defense, Psychiatric News, March 30, 2020