State v. Korell
Montana Supreme Court
690 P.2d 992 (1984)
- Written by Rich Walter, JD
Facts
The State of Montana (plaintiff) prosecuted Jerry Korell (defendant) for attempted deliberate homicide and aggravated assault. Korell claimed he was insane at the time. Montana had recently enacted a statute that eliminated insanity as an affirmative defense absolving a mentally ill defendant of all criminal responsibility for his actions. Under the statute, a defendant asserting the insanity defense had to undergo mental evaluation by a court-appointed psychiatrist. The jury could consider the defendant's insanity only as it affected his state of mind, and the judge could consider it as a sentencing factor. The trial evidence showed that Korell acted under the influence of paranoid delusions but retained his mental capacity to act knowingly or purposely. The jury convicted Korell. On appeal to the Montana Supreme Court, Korell argued that Montana's statute violated the federal Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment guarantee of due process and the Eighth Amendment prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Haswell, C.J.)
Dissent (Sheehy, J.)
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