Davasher v. State

I dissent. Over the years the insanity defense has been whittled away until, with this case, virtually nothing is left.

Our state statutes set out an elaborate scheme for determining mental disease at the time of the offense. See Ark. Code Ann. § 5-2-393, et seq. (1987) and (Supp. 1991). The salient points of the procedure are these:

a. Evidence of a mental disease is admissible to prove whether the defendant had the culpable mental state to commit the offense. § 5-2-304.

b. Once the defendant files notice of a mental-disease defense, the trial court orders a psychiatric examination. §§ 5-2-304,…