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There is no "insanity defense" per se in Massachusetts; it is called "lack of criminal responsibility" (LCR).

Without the presence of psychotic symptoms, it is more difficult to prove a plea of NGRI or LCR.

The insanity or LCR defense is about whether the defendant can be held responsible for their deeds.

In this posting, we will be taking a closer look at the controversial and high-profile Lindsay Clancy case and its legal outcome.

The Insanity Defense (NGRI)

In a nutshell, this case will boil down, it seems to me, to whether Ms. Clancy, a 35-year-old former labor and delivery nurse at Mass General Hospital, perpetrated the evil deed she already admitted to--deliberately killing her three children by strangulation in 2023--during a psychotic or otherwise profoundly debilitating mood episode or other emotional crisis or not.

Here in California, we follow the McNaghten Rule (based on an 1843 case from British law) to determine whether someone can or cannot be held criminally responsible for their actions at the time the crime was committed. The defendant is considered to have been legally insane if, at that time, they were unable to understand the nature and quality of their actions OR that their criminal behavior was illegal or morally wrong, i.e., they could not distinguish between right and wrong.

In California, where I practice, the defendant's legal team has the burden of proving the insanity defense by a preponderance of the evidence (as opposed to beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a higher standard), meaning the offender was more likely than not legally insane when the crime was committed and, therefore, can be found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI). "Insanity," in this context, is strictly a legal rather........

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