Insanity Defense

Insanity Defense

A local business owner has been arrested for the nonfatal shooting of a competitor, who he said taunted him and destroyed his business reputation. The defendant is from a culture in which people who commit social wrongs make public apologies; in some cases, they commit suicide to show remorse. The defendant stated that his competitor slandered him to vendors and to customers. In addition, he refused to apologize when confronted, and only laughed at the defendant. The defendant said that he was “out of his mind” with rage when he pulled the trigger. Answer the following questions:

a. Can the defendant use any affirmative defenses? Why or why not?

b. Should the defendant be charged with any crime? Why or why not? What crime?

Solution: