Discussion on Insanity Defense in Law

The insanity defense has been around in Massachusetts for 182 years, so I think

it's well-established. And I thought

absolutely that she was not criminally responsible-

Mm-hmm

... uh, by reason of, of insanity. And the reason I felt that, I, I f-

I feel so strongly about this holdout juror is 'cause I was a holdout juror in a

case, in the Daniel Rakowitz case.

I don't know if people remember it, the Butcher of Tompkins Square Park.

It was in 19-

Ooh, the guy who ate the victims?

Yes. He was, it w-

You were on that jury?

Yes, I was.

You're gonna need to explain more.

Yes, I was, and when I brought-

Were you on The View already?

Have we never heard this story before?

I was, it was before I went to law school.

Oh, 'cause I would have never put you on The

View.

And, and I, when I brought it up in the hot-

When I brought it up at the hot topics

meeting, I don't think everyone believed me,

and then my producer looked it up, and

I'm in The New York Times. And apparently several jurors

questioned afterwards said one holdout juror was principally

responsible for-

I know it, Asuncion

... preventing them from returning a guilty

verdict.

That was me, and it was because I saw clearly that

he was psychotic.

Of course.

He was in a psychocha- psychosis. He did not

mean to kill her, and once he killed her, he panicked.

He, he chopped up her body parts, yes, boiled her body parts,

tried to commit the perfect crime, and then fed her-

And you got this guy off?

And ...

No, no, no. And, but, but he fed, he ...

That's how much I believe in the insanity defense, and he fed her body parts to the

unhoused.

Excuse me, can I move over-

Yes, yes

... 'cause I don't need to be around.

But, but all that being said, it was so clear to me in the jury room, and

we were sequestered for nine days. One juror threw a chair at me.

They were so angry with me, but one by one I picked them off and said,

"What about

this? What about that?" And we e- ended up, all 12, u- um,

unanimously voting that he was not criminally responsible by

reason-

Just hungry

... of the act of, of, of insanity.

See, that's my issue with the law, people. That's my issue with the law.

And, but he is still in a mental institution

being

treated.