It has been mentioned a few times by a few different users that PF may attempt an insanity plea. Colorado Revised Statutes have
specific provisions for pleading insanity during criminal procedures (CRS 16-8-103 at Lexis). A Colorado attorney provided a
summation of the insanity defense and the “rules” used by the courts to determine if a defendant was “insane” at the time of the crime. The University of Colorado Law School has a
1992 article discussing the insanity defense (yes, it's a bit outdated).
According to a University of Colorado
2015 article, Colorado is one of 11 states that require the prosecution to prove SANITY, rather than requiring the defendant to prove INSANITY (or not permitting the insanity defense at all, like three states, one of which is Idaho). It should be noted that although the rule set used by Colorado includes “crimes of passion” (murder motivated by rage, jealousy, etc.), the article states that Colorado excludes passion-fueled criminal offenses from coverage under an insanity plea. The Denver Post also has an
article (2013, updated in 2016) discussing an insanity plea in Colorado and opining that it is outdated, antiquated, and an uphill battle for prosecutors because of the element of reasonable doubt in criminal procedures (“beyond” it for the prosecution to get a conviction; a hint of it by the defense to hang a jury and get an acquittal, dismissal, or not guilty verdict).
In Colorado (and other states, presumably), a defendant gives up “the right to remain silent” (along with other rights)
when they submit an insanity plea. Another
article states that an insanity defense is actually only used in about one percent of all felony cases and only successful in one-fourth of that one percent. Even if PF submits an insanity plea, it is unlikely that it will be successful because of actions and comments on his part that counter such a plea (and the fact that child services stated the baby was not in danger while in his care).
- - -
Questioning Motive
@MassGuy said:
I don’t see a clear picture as to what the motive is here. (post 587 on
this page)
PF's motive would be no more clear to the general public (or even intimate associates) than that of Susan Smith, Andrea Yates, Casey Anthony, Jodi Arias, Eric Harris & Dylan Klebold, JBR's mother (not accused or convicted but I'm convinced), Jeffrey MacDonald, Ronald DeFeo, the Menendez brothers, the Manson family, or the Zodiac Killer.
Some of those examples go way beyond the one-on-one dynamic of PF and KB, but the motives are likely just as mysterious. In many, many cases, when one partner kills another – it's little more than “if I can't have you, no one can.” (See OJ's book telling how he did it even after a court determined he didn't do it, for example.) The little rage machine goes into overdrive and someone ends up dead.
- - -
PF's mom - her "independence" questioned. HE lived with her, not the other way around. Any issues with independence (financial, psychological, or otherwise) were clearly on his side of that fence, not his mother's.
