No need for psychiatric records to claim legal insanity — SC

A person does not need to have psychiatric records in order to claim legal insanity as a defense, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled.

In its decision, the SC’s Third Division acquitted an accused due to insanity and ordered her confinement at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) for treatment.

The SC said the accused was charged with homicide after she was found naked, covered in blood, and chanting religious phrases over her best friend’s lifeless body.

According to the accused, she attacked her friend after she transformed into a demon. She also said she heard the Virgin Mary instructing her to place a cross into her best friend’s heart.  

The regional trial court and the Court of Appeals found her guilty, ruling that the medical assessment should have evaluated her mental state before, during, and after the crime.

However, the examinations were only conducted after the crime.

For its part, the SC said that the accused showed enough evidence of insanity at the time of the crime.

The High Court said that proving legal insanity only requires evidence that one is deprived of intelligence either before, during, or immediately after a crime.

It said that past records, while they may be relevant, are not required to prove that the medical condition led to the crime.

The SC also noted that impoverished individuals may not have access to psychiatric care, saying that the requirement of prior medical records put them in a disadvantaged position.

It said they are “forced to brush aside conditions of their health in order to prioritize the immediate need to put food on the table and other necessities.”

“The plea of insanity, as like any other similar defense available under the law, should always be equally accessible to all, regardless of background or status. Adding additional burdens and qualifications to avail them, when not necessary and decisive to the legal issue, is underserving to be branded as a dispensation of justice,” it said. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News