The insanity defense is often used to deflect responsibility for heinous crimes and sometimes it's simply a desperate attempt to stay out of prison. Remember the so-called "Twinkie defense" successfully used by a San Francisco supervisor, where he blamed the cold-blooded murder of activist Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone on temporary insanity caused by too much sugar?
But sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, as with Judge Joseph Condon's ruling of not guilty by reason of insanity in the case of a Crystal Lake man who told police he tried to kill his girlfriend because she had become the devil.
Yep, that's insane.
Willie M. Terry, 49, is a Hurricane Katrina evacuee and has clinically diagnosed schizophrenia. The incident took place on Sept. 6, 2006, just one year after being displaced by the devestating New Orleans hurricane, when Terry brutally stabbed his girlfriend repeatedly in her face and torso.
Still think he's faking it? Read on.
The man went into a "trance-like" state during the police interview and told them he was communicating with Satan, according to the article. Three months prior to the attack, Terry called police to have his girlfriend removed because she was "possessed." Terry's Illinois criminal attorney, public defender Christopher Harmon, told reporters he has a well-documented history of serious mental illness:
"Mr. Terry is extremely mentally ill and delusional. He meant no harm to (the victim). He wanted to kill the demon that she had become or that had taken her over."
Terry is now in the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS), which has 30 days to determine his fate. At most, he could spend 30 years in a DHS facility and undergo treatment for his mental illness.
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Status of the insanity defense (FindLaw)
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History of the insanity defense (Washington Post)
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