Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> StandDown Texas Project

Criminal Law

: StandDown Texas Project

Confusion Abounds in Mental Health Defenses

By Steve Hall

Martha Deller writes, "Appellate rulings sought to set guidelines for mental impairment defenses," for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.  It's a must-read for those interested in the intersection of mental illness and the criminal justice system. No one knows for certain why a Tarrant County jury rejected a defense related to post-traumatic stress disorder in the murder trial of Marine veteran Eric Acevedo.But legal experts agree that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals needs to rule more definitively whether evidence of mental impairment -- short of the tougher insanity defense -- is admissible in deciding guilt or innocence, and if so, when and how it can be used.Texas hasn't allowed jurors to consider mental health issues, short of insanity, in determining a defendant's guilt...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on May 12, 2010 (boomark / email).