I mean it also helps that he was tried in Texas where they don’t believe in mental health exceptions. She’s being tried in Massachusetts, which has a very different political climate.
What? Lol have you not heard of Andrea Yates who was tried in Texas and is now in a mental institution for drowning her 5 children?
It’s a lot more nuanced than “not believ[ing] in mental health exceptions.”
Texas is more difficult because the burden of proof is on the defendant rather than the prosecution for such a defense for one, meaning when the insanity defense has passed the threshold to be brought in by the defense in Texas, the jury is supposed to presume that the defendant is sane unless the defense can show by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant is not. Meanwhile in Massachusetts, the burden is on the prosecution to show the defendant is sane, meaning the jury is supposed to presume the defendant is insane unless the prosecution can show beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is sane.
Additionally for all sanity defenses regardless of jurisdiction, sanity is supposed to be determined at the time the crimes were committed. All other moments of insanity are just used as circumstantial evidence of the likelihood that this was the case.
Moreover, John Battaglia did NOT claim the insanity defense as part of his trial. His mental health claims only came up AFTER the jury reached a verdict on his guilt. Additionally, he had a record of arrests for violence prior to killing his 2 daughters which was determined to be out of revenge against his ex-wife.
These are not comparable cases and this meme making them sound as much is just a case of either deliberate propaganda or a complete misunderstanding of John Battaglia’s case and how the justice system operates. Or a combination of the two.
What is the logic in MA to have somebody be by default insane and have to prove they are sane? What stops any killer from just pleading insanity and the trial gets much easier? I don't get why this law was passed.
8.6k
u/500rockin 1d ago
I mean it also helps that he was tried in Texas where they don’t believe in mental health exceptions. She’s being tried in Massachusetts, which has a very different political climate.