Rationality Was Lost on the United States Supreme Court in Its Kahler Decision

[摘要] In its recent Kahler decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Kansas’ abolition of the state’s insanity defense was constitutional. It did so by framing the matter as a choice between the state’s mens rea defense and a moral capacity defense, then mischaracterizing the mens rea defense as a type of insanity defense. In analyzing the two approaches, the Court missed the fundamental importance of rationality in criminal mental responsibility, a constitutional requirement for other criminal competencies, and a condition well described in the Court’s Panetti ruling. The Court’s acceptance of the abolition of a special insanity defense is a public policy in the direction of further criminalizing and punishing rather than providing prompt and proper treatment to those with serious mental illness, at a time when increasing modern research demonstrates the success of insanity acquittee dispositions with improved treatment and management resulting in lower rates of relapse and criminal recidivism.

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] insanity defense;rationality;criminal responsibility;mens rea defense