State v. Joseph

DAVIS, Justice:

Mr. Robert Joseph, defendant below and appellant herein, appeals from a conviction of first degree murder with mercy. He contends that the circuit court erred in excluding expert testimony offered by the defense to show that he suffered from a diminished capacity that prevented him from forming the requisite mental state for the commission of first or second degree murder. We first conclude that the diminished capacity defense is available in West Virginia to permit a defendant to introduce expert testimony regarding a mental disease or defect that rendered the defendant…