State v. Klatt

The defendant, Rudolph Klatt, was charged with murder in the first degree. He waived trial by jury and the case was tried to the court. He was found guilty of murder in the second degree and sentenced to life imprisonment. All issues on appeal involve factual and legal determinations as to the defendant’s sanity. We affirm the conviction and sentence.

Some background facts, as well as a summary of the expert testimony on the issue of sanity, may be useful. On Saturday evening, April 29, 1967, at about 10 p.m., the defendant and his favorite half-brother had engaged in a public altercation and…