Bill questions temporary mental illness resulting from voluntary intoxication

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Jan. 21 on a bill that would eliminate the defense of temporary insanity when the defendant is voluntarily under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Under LB100, introduced by Lincoln Sen. Colby Coash, those charged with committing a crime while intoxicated could no longer use intoxication as a defense, unless they can prove that they did not know that the substance was a toxicant when they ingested, inhaled, injected or absorbed it.

“This defense does happen and it is a gap in our statutes,” Coash said.

He referred to a 2006 Lincoln case, in which Shane Tilley fatally stabbed a friend, Andy Lubben, after intentionally overdosing on cold medication. Tilley was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity.

Jeff Lubben, Andy’s father, testified in support of the bill, saying it has been difficult to accept that someone can be found not guilty of a murder charge because they were high on cold medicine.

Nebraska Assistant Attorney General Corey O’Brien also testified in support of the bill.

Insanity serves as a viable defense in our legal system, he said, but the state should hold people responsible for what they do while voluntarily intoxicated.

Michele Belcastro, a propopent of the bill, said her mother-in-law was brutally beaten by her son, Patrick, who was on methamphetamine at the time of the crime.

He was charged with two felonies of first-degree assault and assault with a deadly weapon, she said.

The judge found Patrick competent to stand trial, she said, but he also was found to be temporarily insane at the time of the crime. He was sent to a treatment center, Belcastro said.

“This shocking gap in the system is not protecting or helping anyone,” she said.

Chris Eickholt of the Nebraska Criminal Defense Attorneys Association testified against LB100.

There is an ongoing debate in the medical community about whether drug-induced insanity should be treated as a mental illness, he said, adding that the law should not be changed without input from the mental health or psychiatric communities.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.