Criminal Law - Defense

User Generated

NKryya

Business Finance

Description

You are a defense attorney and have been appointed to represent Don Smith. Don was recently arrested and charged with first degree murder for killing a woman named Valerie. Don shot and killed Valerie as she was walking into a local gas station.

When interviewed by law enforcement, Don said he has schizophrenia and that he often hears "voices." Don told officers that on the day Valerie was murdered, he was walking down the street and saw a wolf. Don stated that the wolf told him to kill Valerie because she was a "bad person." The wolf told Don that Valerie was going to kidnap Don and lock him up in a cave. Don then went home and got his hunting rifle. He shot Valerie as she was walking into a gas station. After the shooting, Don sat down on the sidewalk. Officers immediately responded to the call of "shots fired" and arrested Don without incident. Don was arrested and booked at the county jail. He waived his Miranda warning and proceeded to tell officers about his schizophrenia, the wolf he saw, and that the wolf told him to kill Valerie.

First research the Florida state law regarding the insanity/mental capacity defense. Review and study the relevant statutory language concerning the insanity defense.

Prepare a 2-3 page paper that addresses the following issues. Support your comments and discussion based on the wording of Florida state's statute.

  • According to the wording of relevant statute in your state regarding defenses, as Don's attorney, what defenses will you raise on Don's behalf?
  • What is the specific wording from your state statute(s) that applies in this scenario?
  • What elements or proof must you present to be successful in your defense?
  • What elements or proof does the prosecutor must be present in response to your defenses?

Please be sure to prepare the assignment following APA citation and format requirements. You must include proper citations to any source you relied on for information that you include in the paper.

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Explanation & Answer

Hey, here is the completed task. Go through it and in case you need any changes let me know so that we can make them before the deadline.Regards

Running head: CRIMINAL LAW

Criminal Law
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliation

CRIMINAL LAW

2
Defense for the case

At the time of the crime, Don was suffering from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a chronic and
severe mental illness that makes people fail to understand what is happening in reality. The
insanity of Don affected his thinking during the time of crime by showing him that Valerie was
an enemy and wanted to kidnap him and lock him up in a cave.
During the act of crime Don was not aware of what was happening as stated in the
Florida state laws that According to the laws which says that one is legally insane if during the
time of committing a crime they are affected by a defect of reason, from illness of the mind,
making them not to be aware of what they are doing and not recognizing whether their actions
were correct o...


Anonymous
Excellent! Definitely coming back for more study materials.

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