HARRY HUGHES, Governor                                     2669

(B)  BURDEN OF PROOF.

THE DEFENDANT HAS THE BURDEN TO ESTABLISH, BY A
PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE, THE DEFENSE OF NOT CRIMINALLY
RESPONSIBLE.

(C)  DEGREE OF PROOF AND VERDICT.

IF THE TRIER OF FACT FINDS THAT THE STATE HAS PROVED BEYOND
A REASONABLE DOUBT THAT THE DEFENDANT COMMITTED THE CRIMINAL ACT
CHARGED, THEN, IF THE DEFENDANT HAS PLEADED NOT CRIMINALLY
RESPONSIBLE, THE TRIER OF FACT SEPARATELY SHALL FIND, BY A
PREPONDERANCE OF THE EVIDENCE, WHETHER THE DEFENDANT WAS AT THE
TIME CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE OR NOT CRIMINALLY RESPONSIBLE BY
REASON OF INSANITY UNDER THE TEST FOR CRIMINAL RESPONSIBILITY IN
§ 12-108 OF THIS TITLE.

(D)  VERDICT NOT ALLOWED.

A COURT MAY NOT ENTER A VERDICT OF NOT CRIMINALLY
RESPONSIBLE UNLESS THE DEFENDANT OR DEFENSE COUNSEL HAS FILED A
WRITTEN PLEA UNDER SUBSECTION (A) OF THIS SECTION.

TASK FORCE COMMENT TO § 12-109.

This section replaces former Health - General Article, §
12-108, "Same - Plea". The following are the substantive
changes recommended by the Governor's Task Force to Review
the Defense of Insanity.

Throughout this section, the phrase "not criminally
responsible" is substituted for the legal terms "insanity"
and "insane" in keeping with the recommendation of the Task
Force that the phrase "not criminally responsible" is a more
accurate statement of the defendant's status under criminal
law. The Task Force recommends avoiding the terms "insane"
and "insanity" to the extent possible. Even though the
terms are legal terms that convey long-understood concepts
of law, there is unpreventable carryover which perpetuates
stigmatizing images of all mentally ill individuals in the
public mind, including those who have committed no crime.
This carryover counteracts efforts to improve the
understanding and treatment of mental illness. The Task
Force also believes that the terms "insane" and "insanity"
are misleading as legal terms. Jurors and the general
public's understanding of the term "insane", conveys a
mental image that may unfairly prejudice the credibility of
the plea when the defendant seems relatively normal by
contrast. Nevertheless, with awareness of the potential for
unintended change, the Task Force recommends the terms not
be deleted entirely.

In subsection (a) of this section, the former provision --
"This plea may be made in addition to any other lawful
plea." -- is deleted in light of other recommended changes
made to this title by the Task Force.