The Supreme Judicial Court’s October 12 decision in Commonwealth v.  William Dunn shows how difficult it is to avoid a murder conviction by pleading insanity. Despite the presentation of evidence of the defendant’s bizzare behavior and expert testimony from well-known psychiatrist Keith Ablow a jury found him guilty of  a deadly  baseball bat attack against a Needham couple.  The SJC decision upheld the verdict and declined to reduce the sentence or order a new trial.

Social Law Resources include:

Trying Murder and other Homicide Cases in Massachusetts http://encore.socialaw.com/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1137260

Psychological and Psychiatric Evidence 3d http://encore.socialaw.com/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1083416

Tell the Client’s Story: Mitigation and Criminal and Death Penalty Cases http://encore.socialaw.com/iii/encore/record/C__Rb1144488