Question

John Sugarman killed his mother with a direct gunshot to the head. At trial, John attempted to raise the defense of insanity. The following information was discovered at trial: (i) John’s expert psychiatrist diagnosed him with schizophrenia; (ii) John claims he heard “voices” in his head from the devil ordering him to kill his mother; (iii) John used a silencer on his weapon; (iv) after completing the crime, John attempted to dump the body in a river; and (v) John told the police “he did a bad thing.” In a jurisdiction that utilizes the M’Naghten test, is John not guilty by reason of insanity?

Answer 1

It must be proves that John was insane at the time of the murder, otherwise, by the M’Naghten rules, he cannot claim insanity as a reason of murder.