It seems there is a new trend in criminal defense tactics: blame it on dead people!In England, Dawood Khan is accused of murdering a Yorkshire College student last year with a cricket bat. He claims no knowledge of the actual crime. Doctors at the Stockton Hall Hospital where he is being held have stated that he believes he was under the influence of "black magic and two ghosts".
Similarly, in Salinas, California, attempted to explain the 1996 drug-related murder of 20-year-old Victor Manuel Gutierrez on a ghost, only to recant his tale later. As his trial approaches, he is now blaming it on another (living) man.
Has this ever been a valid argument, or are people just more desperate to use the insanity defense?
2 comments:
I guess they watched Amityville Horror for an idea
I think it would be a weak insanity defense because you have to look at all those rational individuals who believe in ghosts and call them crazy. I don't think a court would do that. So, seeing ghosts wouldn't be "crazy" enough. Whereas talking black dogs... (isn't that what Berkovitz saw or heard or whatever?)
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