Jarrod Ramos, who was accused of killing five workers at the Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Md has confessed that he committed the offenses. His defense is that he was mentally ill at the time of the trial – such that he should be held – not criminally responsible.
According to the Washington Post, Ramos held a grudge against the newspaper because he had lost a defamation lawsuit against the newspaper after the Capital Gazette printed a story about his pleading guilty to harassing a high school classmate.
The effectiveness of the not criminally responsible defense
The Capital Gazette, in May 2019, discussed how the defense of “not criminally responsible” works:
- The defense is rarely used. Only 386 defendants in 2006, an average year, used the defense in Maryland district and circuit courts – out of the 285,000 criminal cases in the criminal justice systems. The core of the defense is that that person does admit they committed the crime but they argue that “the most appropriate disposition for them is hospitalization or other treatment for their mental disease or disorder.”
- The John Hinkley case. John Hinkley tried to assassinate President Ronald Regan in 1981. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Some states abolished the insanity defense in response. Maryland and a few other states created the not criminally responsible defense which requires that the defendant who committed the crime prove, “that at the time the defendant committed the crime they could not understand their actions were illegal or conform their actions to the law because of a mental disorder or developmental disabilities. Certain actions such as drug use are excluded from this new version of the insanity defense.
- It’s rarely successful. After someone enters an insanity/not criminally responsible plea, the court orders a mental health examination by the department of health. According to John Cox, the deputy state attorney for Baltimore County, prosecutors often rely on the health department’s finding. In the 368 cases in 2006 where the defense was asserted, doctors found the defense to have merit in less than one-third of the cases. Of the 82 cases that involved major violent felonies, such as the Capital Gazette shootings, only 13 defendants “were found not criminally responsible and committed to the department of health.” Most of these committals involved schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
Additional issues in these types of cases
Most cases that involve a not criminally responsible defense are heard in one trial, but some judges may agree to hear the issues of innocence or guilt first, and then decide the lack of criminal responsibility issue in a separate trial. Many non-criminally responsible cases involve a battle between the medical doctors for the prosecution and those for the defendant.
In most criminal cases, if the defendant is found guilty, there is a sentencing hearing where the defendant is given a maximum sentence. In a not criminally responsible case, the defendant is found guilty but not criminally responsible. The defendant is then turned into the custody of a health department hospital such as Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center, Eastern Shore Hospital, Thomas B. Finan, Spring Grove, and Springfield hospital center. There is no maximum term set. Defendants are committed for an indefinite time, until they no longer require hospitalization as determined by the health department.
At Drew Cochran, Attorney at Law, our Annapolis and Ellicott City criminal defense lawyers understand the pros and cons of asserting the not criminally responsible defense. We understand when this defense won’t work and when it can. We also understand what happens if the judge accepts your claim of not being criminally responsible due to your mental health. To review all aspects of any criminal charge, call us at 410-271-1892, or complete our contact form.
And remember: Keep Calm – and Call Drew
