A defense lawyer for a Kentucky man is reviving the Twinkie Defense - this time, too much caffeine caused Woody Will Smith to kill his wife with an extension cord. Pffft! Murderers don't want to take responsibility for their crimes - so blame substance abuse. Blame stupidity. Blame God!
A man in Kentucky who is set to stand trial for the murder of his wife, is planning to use the temporary insanity defense, according to the Associated Press. The cause of insanity? Caffeine intoxication from too many soft drinks and energy drinks.
The defendant, Woody Will Smith, was charged with strangling his wife, Amanda Hornsby-Smith, with an extension cord in 2009. Smith's trial is set to begin today and his attorney, Shannon Sexton, has already filed notice of their defense.
The AP reports:
"Sexton filed notice with the Newport court of plans to argue his client ingested so much caffeine in the days leading up to the killing that it rendered him temporarily insane — unable even to form the intent of committing a crime." Link
This whole defense case is insane. If alcohol and drugs aren't mitigating factors for committing a crime - neither will coffee and caffeine energy drinks.
But if this defense acquits Smith - well, bottom line is - Smith got himself a pretty damn good lawyer and nothing else. There will not be any prohibition enacted to control the number of coffee beverages one is allowed to drink per day.
So if Smith walks free - he better start decaf!
Comments
However, this raises an important question: assume that the defendant was legally insane at the time he committed the crime, but that insanity was caused by his own voluntary actions (in this case, drinking lots of coffee). Should he be able to use the insanity defense?
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