Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer:
Paper Instructions:

In this assignment, you will consider all the information presented below and decide: Was Ellie Nesler insane at the time she shot Daniel Driver?  Then you'll evaluate the case using each test of insanity to determine whether Nesler was legally insane. 

Ellie Nesler, 41, shot and killed Daniel Driver in a Jamestown, California, courtroom on April 2, 1993. She smuggled the weapon into the courtroom and shot Driver five times. Driver had been on trial for molesting Nesler’s 6-year-old son.

The defense argued that Nesler was insane at the time of the crime. Here are the defense’s arguments:

1. Nesler had lived in violent family environments. Her alcoholic father often battered her mother, she was attacked when she tried to shield her mother and two younger sisters from her father, and she was molested at the age of 3 and was sexually abused by at least three other men. As a child, she had thoughts of suicide. She, therefore, had a history of trauma that made her psychologically vulnerable.
2. Nesler discovered that her 6-year-old son had been molested by Daniel Driver, a man Nesler trusted but did not know was a convicted child molester. She was racked with guilt knowing she had entrusted her son to this man. During the three months when Driver was sought by law enforcement for the molestation, the son (Danny) lived in constant fear that Driver would find and harm him.
3. Nesler saw “secret signs” from the routine comments of friends and relatives that ordered her to kill Driver. These caused her to smuggle a pistol into the courtroom and kill Driver.
4. Several mental health professionals evaluated Nesler and, although their diagnoses varied, one included brief reactive psychosis and another post-traumatic stress disorder.
The prosecution argued that Nesler did not act like an insane person and should be found guilty of the crime. Here are the prosecution’s arguments:

1. Nesler’s behaviors leading up to the crime were planned and deliberate. She admitted that she wanted to see if Driver would be remorseful before shooting him. She wanted to see if he would “cop a plea” (accept a level of guilt for his actions rather than plead not guilty).
2. She checked to see if a deputy whom she had befriended would get in trouble if Driver was killed.
3. She made sure no children were present in the courtroom so they would not witness the shooting.
4. Several mental health professionals with credentials equal to the defense’s evaluated Ms. Nesler and argued that she had the ability to distinguish right from wrong.
The format of your essay should be as follows (use these headings)

Case Summary: Briefly summarize the material above. At the end of the summary state whether you think she SHOULD be found guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity and why. (This is  just your own reaction, without considering the specific laws.)  

Evaluation of Sanity: In this section, you will apply four possible legal criteria for insanity. Here is a brief description of each one: Insanity Defense Tests.docxPreview the document

In four separate paragraphs, list and describe each of the four rules below, and decide whether that rule would find Nesler guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.  Justify your reasoning.

M’Naghten Rule

Irresistible Impulse

Durham Rule

ALI Guidelines

Summary and Conclusion: Which rule did you find most applicable to this case? Which rule do you think we should be using?  Why?