State v. Murphy

I

In his first proposition of law, appellant contends that the prosecuting attorney’s cross-examination of Dr. Schmidtgoessling and direct examination of Dr. Sunbury focused upon criteria relevant to the insanity defense rather than those relevant to the mitigating factor described in R.C. 2929.04(B)(3). In particular, appellant maintains that the inquiry and argument of the prosecutor sought to establish in the minds of the jurors a misconception that in mitigation appellant was required to demonstrate the more difficult standard for the insanity defense described in State v. Staten (1969),…