What is the insanity defense? How is it used and when? And, does the Constitution permit a state to abolish it?

Aaron Freiwald, Managing Partner of Freiwald Law and host of the weekly podcast, Good Law | Bad Law, is joined by Professor Stephen Morse, of Penn’s Carey Law School, to discuss the insanity defense. The Ferdinand Wakeman Hubbell Professor of Law, a Professor of Psychology and Law in Psychiatry, and the Associate Director of the Center for Neuroscience and Society at Penn, Professor Morse is one of the country’s leading experts on today’s topic, having recently co-authored an amicus brief for the United States Supreme Court in the case, Kahler v. Kansas. Today, Aaron and Stephen talk about this brief and more as they contemplate one of our country’s oldest legal quandaries. 

In this episode, Stephen and Aaron aim to answer some of the most challenging questions surrounding the insanity defense. What is it really? And, what are the conditions? The two examine the question of intent and competency, the notion of right and wrong, as well as how we view crime as a society and subsequently, how we view punishment and its purposes. Professor Morse debunks some of the myths of what it means to be criminally insane and Aaron asks about the misunderstandings of the so-called “twinkie defense.” Stephen and Aaron talk about the recent wave of mass shootings in our country, the historic examples of the insanity defense, such as the cases of Andrea Yates and Daniel M’Naghten, and whether or not states can or should move to outlaw insanity as a legal defense.  Professor Morse clearly states the case for not abolishing the insanity defense.

Professor Morse obtained his JD from Harvard, as well as his PhD in Personality and Developmental Studies. He works on problems of individual responsibility and agency, specializing in criminal law and mental health law. Stephen has published numerous interdisciplinary articles and chapters and has co-edited collections including A Primer on Criminal Law and Neuroscience and Foundations of Criminal Law. He was a contributing author to Crime and Culpability: A Theory of Criminal Law and is working on a new book entitled, Desert and Disease: Responsibility and Social Control. He teaches courses in Criminal Law, Mental Health Law, Freedom and Responsibility, and Perspectives on Cognitive Neuroscience.

Professor Morse is a Diplomate in Forensic Psychology of the American Board of Professional Psychology; a recipient of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology’s Distinguished Contribution Award and a member of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Mental Health and Law. He is also a trustee of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

To learn more about Professor Stephen Morse, please visit his Bio page on Penn’s website here.

To learn more about Professor Morse’s most recent amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court, please click here.

To learn more about Kahler v. Kansas, please click here.

Host: Aaron Freiwald

Guest: Stephen Morse

Follow Good Law | Bad Law:

YouTube: Good Law | Bad Law

Instagram: @GoodLawBadLaw

Website: https://www.law-podcast.com