People v. Ramsey

422 Mich. 500, 375 N.W.2d 297 (1985)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

Ramsey (D) choked and stabbed his wife 32 times in the presence of his children. He did so to exorcise the demons from her and believed that she would live once the demons were gone. D's wife died from the wounds. When D's wife would not come back to life, D put her body in his bed and stabbed himself in the chest. D was diagnosed as acutely psychotic when he was admitted to the hospital. D was tried and convicted of murder. The jury returned a verdict of guilty but mentally ill. This verdict applied in cases where the defendant was guilty of an offense and was mentally ill when he committed the offense but was not legally insane at the time of the offense. D appealed: the verdict was unconstitutional.