18 U.S.C. § 17
Insanity defense
- Code
- United States Code
- Title
- 18
- Section
- 17
- Text current through
- Pub. L. 119-111
What does the statute say?
§ 17. Insanity defense (a) Affirmative Defense.— It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under any Federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense.
(b) Burden of Proof.— The defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence.
(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, § 402(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2057, § 20; renumbered § 17, Pub. L. 99–646, § 34(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3599.)
The text is copied from the official source: uscode.house.gov. This is the stored text for research. It is not legal advice; check the official source before you rely on it.