The Texas insanity-defense law requires that a delusional person acting under "orders" from God be judged not guilty by reason of insanity, but that a delusional person acting under "orders" from Satan be considered sane, according to prominent forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz (according to a June USA Today story). Thus, Dietz believed that Andrea Yates (at press time being retried in Houston) knew that drowning her kids upon command of someone "without moral authority" (such as Satan) was wrong and thus that she did not qualify for insanity-law protection. Dietz later concluded the opposite in another Texas child-killing case because God had supposedly assured that mother that her kids would be better off dead. [USA Today, 6-20-06]
The problem for me is that what if you acting under orders that you and your culture considers a "moral authority" but every one else in the world considers very crazy. Say you are a pious and sincere Aztec. In your backyard you have an altar where you sacrifice your enemies' still beating hearts to Huitzilopochti. Eventually the police authorities might notice your religious practices.
Guilty or Not Guilty?
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