NEWS (3/​23/​20): U.S. Supreme Court — The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against a Kansas death-row pris­on­er who had argued his con­vic­tion vio­lat­ed due process because he had not been per­mit­ted to present an insan­i­ty defense. In a 6 – 3 deci­sion authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the Court upheld the con­vic­tion of James Kahler for mur­der­ing his estranged wife, two teenage daugh­ters, and a fourth fam­i­ly mem­ber in 2009, while in a state of severe depres­sion from the break­down of his marriage. 

The Court held that where a state per­mits a defen­dant to present a defense that men­tal ill­ness pre­vent­ed him from form­ing the req­ui­site crim­i­nal intent, it is not also required to allow a sep­a­rate ​“moral inca­pac­i­ty” insan­i­ty defense. The 14^th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, the Court wrote, does not ​“com­pel[ ] the acquit­tal of any defen­dant who, because of men­tal ill­ness, could not tell right from wrong when com­mit­ting his crime.”

In dis­sent, Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Ginsburg and Sotomayor, said that for more than 700 years, Anglo-American law has per­mit­ted an insan­i­ty defense based upon a defen­dan­t’s inca­pac­i­ty to dis­tin­guish right from wrong. ​“Kansas has not sim­ply rede­fined the insan­i­ty defense,” the dis­sent wrote. “[I]t has elim­i­nat­ed the core of a defense that has exist­ed for centuries.”