guilty by reason of insanity

Type: Concept

As of November 2026, guilty by reason of insanity has been mentioned in one podcast episode on Sword and Scale (Dec 2025).

The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act. This is contrasted with an excuse of provocation, in which the defendant is responsible, but the responsibility is lessened due to a temporary mental state. It is also contrasted with the justification of self-defense or with the mitigation of imperfect