Can a Legally Criminally Insane Man Be Convicted of Murder

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Quoting Peachesbackwards

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There's nothing worse than asking a question on a forum and have a person answer a question that wasn't what I was asking. What I asked is if while Hinkley is in the asylum, if he hypothetically killed, assaulted or raped, a person there, even though he is considered insane, could he still be tried for the crime and found guilty despite using the insanity defense for this new crime.

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Ya know what's worse?

Someone that jumps onto an established forum just so that they can stomp their foot and tell the rest of us how things work here.

This works a little like baseball. If the other person didn't catch it correctly, maybe the problem was in what you threw.

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Quoting kist

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You're right I will arrange for a full refund and a tiny bottle of Motel 6 shampoo.

The people who post here do so for their own enjoyment and part of that is to debate with other regulars. You got plenty of good answers. Now say you're sorry.

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As a matter of fact Kist, now that I reread one of my posts, I have a different response about it, but I won't post it now either!

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Quoting Peachesbackwards

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...can he still be convicted of murder, even if he uses the insanity defense, as the Court has already pronounced him Mentally Insane?

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Under common law the concept of "insanity" is a legal concept, not a medical concept. There is no medical diagnosis of "insanity".

In criminal courts, mental illness raises two questions:

First, is the person mentally competent to stand trial - can they understand legal proceedings and participate in their own defense? If not, they can be detained (within limits) and medically treated to try to render them competent to stand trial.

Second, is the person criminally responsible - under the laws of the governing jurisdiction, were they responsible for their acts at the time of the offense such that they can be held criminally responsible for their actions. As that's a legal determination, not a medical determination, the criteria for a finding that a defendant lacked criminal responsibility (or even when the defense is available) varies between jurisdictions.

The fact that you've previously been determined not to be criminally responsible in a separate prosecution doesn't prevent you from being found criminally responsible in a subsequent prosecution.

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Quoting aaron

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The fact that you've previously been determined not to be criminally responsible in a separate prosecution doesn't prevent you from being found criminally responsible in a subsequent prosecution.

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Since you posted, that was my revision. I meant he could not be tried again for the attempted assassination of Reagan, NOT subsequent crimes, although it may have been interpreted otherwise.