Another good article that’s well worth a read
Weedsanity! – The Rise of the Cannabis Insanity Defense Across America
The Rise of the Weed Insanity Defense – WeedSanity!
The “cannabis made me do it” defense, once a bizarre footnote in legal history, is gaining alarming traction in courtrooms across the globe. When Bryn Spejcher, a California woman, successfully used “transient psychosis” as her get-out-of-jail-free card after brutally stabbing her boyfriend 108 times, it set a dangerous precedent. I warned then that this ruling would open the floodgates for more killers to claim “temporary insanity” induced by cannabis use.
Sadly, that prediction is becoming reality. In Ireland, Diego Costa Silva was found not guilty of murdering his wife, thanks to a “cannabis-induced psychosis” defense. Now, we’re seeing this strategy employed with increasing frequency, as murderers attempt to shirk responsibility for their heinous acts.
Let’s be clear: even if cannabis could induce a state of temporary insanity (a claim that deserves intense scrutiny), the capacity for such violent behavior should be cause for serious concern, not a ticket to freedom. The idea that a plant could transform someone into a remorseless killing machine is either a blatant lie or a red flag that the individual poses an ongoing threat to society.
This article delves into a recent case where this defense strategy didn’t pan out as the killer had hoped. It serves as a crucial message to future jurors: we must not allow cold-blooded murderers to walk free based on dubious claims about cannabis-induced psychosis. The stakes are too high, and justice demands better.
The Story of James Kilroy
James Kilroy, a 51-year-old park ranger from Westport, Co Mayo, Ireland, shocked the nation with a brutal act of violence against his wife, Valerie French Kilroy. His defense? A claim that cannabis-induced psychosis led him to believe his wife was conspiring with Donald Trump’s bodyguards to capture, torture, and kill him.
Read the full article at
Also see this article in the Daily Beast from 2017
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-new-murder-defense-marijuana-made-me-do-it
