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Suspect in Guam murders pleads not guilty by reason of mental illness

22 Comments
By OSKAR GARCIA

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22 Comments
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or rather GUILTY by INSANITY while on drugs and mad at the world. Off with his head.

5 ( +5 / -2 )

Ridiculous...throw away the key.

Bet the guy came out of his drug-laden haze a couple of days later wondering WTF he was doing sitting in jail.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Well, anyone perfectly sane would never go on a killing rampage!!! But to say you are not guilty because you were not yourself then, is a laughable excuse!!!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Sure, anyone can claim mental illness or temporary insanity ... but if the cause was drugs or even bath salts, well, it means that he was aware that he was committing the act of drug or substance abuse, so he should be accountable for his actions while on the effects of the drugs or substances.

But unlike alcohol DUI, alcohol's legal.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

So, let's see if I got this right.

DeSoto didn't kill those people, his mental illness did.

That makes his psychiatrist responsible then, doesn't it?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

so sad , not guilty cuz of his mental illeness what a nice cover up ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I find it interesting that people see the insanity plea as something that will get him off and back into the streets immediately.

No, nobody thinks that. What they think is that he will be sent to a mental institution, act perfectly sane in his performances for the on-duty staff, then get released after a year or two due to overcrowding and the need for his bed to be used by another criminal.

Two years in a mental hospital for ramming a group of people (killing one) then jumping out and knifing those people (killing two) and injuring 11 others. I don't care how much of a bleeding heart you have for mental patients, that's an INjustice.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Probably the defense attorney is busy lining up a series of psychiatrists who would eventually testify that DeSoto was not responsible for his actions. That he was insane at the time of the incident. Most people have a bias against the insanity defense. The average person thinks anybody who's got it together enough to commit a crime can face the punishment for it. The defense attorney will be searching for a psychiatrist who was willing to cooperate. However, very few mental health professional wanted to be involved having their name attached to someone who was part of the prosecution of DeSoto. They believe that they would lose respect in their profession if they testified for the defense.

If he is defined as mentally ill, most likely, the defense will try to work ot a plea agreement and have DeSoto sent to a secure psychiatric facility rather than to prison. However, in a high profile case such as this, they should refuse to authorize any plea agreement. Let jury to make that decision. This is one of those cases.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

more than $100,000 had been raised in a memorial fund to cover costs for the families of victims.

That's awesome!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If he had said he thought they were burglars, he'd be already back at home, reading the news on internet...

The average person thinks anybody who's got it together enough to commit a crime can face the punishment for it.

I think most just want the perp out of the streets, locked in jail or in an asylum, nobody cares. But in so many cases, a person was declared mentally irresponsible, not judged for a violent crime, sent to a clinic, and a really short time after, the doctors found the patient totally sane and let him/her go free... The families of victims feel denied justice.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The attorney used the famous make no sense tatics to win the case.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Ok Cleo, you are right about the sentencing outcome, but do you claim the other part of the post is total rubbish?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This dwarf-like de-Soto looks a nasty piece of work. I hope for the sake of his innocent victims the little coward can't weasel his way out of a trial.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A 21-year-old man accused of killing three Japanese tourists in a crash and stabbing rampage in Guam has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental illness. - Really?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I have no words to express the disgust i feel that such a plea could even be heard. He killed the people, there were witnesses. It was a terrible and henious crime and he should be executed without delay and without trial. To waste the time and cost of the court, and to make the families suffer more is almost as bad as the crimes. This is no matter for lawyers or arguing. Insanity is no defense. It never should be. I hope they throw the book at him. I expect they will no matter what the lame lawyers may try. Legal systems are severely bad these days. A very sad story.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So what does DeSoto expect us to do? Let him go? Take care of him for the rest of his life?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No surprise here but what else could his lawyer do. He was caught in the act at the scene.

@Cris, as much as I feel your anger, what you are suggesting is no legal system.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Good job Chamorros on the collection. Wished Japan did the same when crazy Japanese kill foreigners.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I find it interesting that people see the insanity plea as something that will get him off and back into the streets immediately.

Let's look at it like grown folks: if you have the urge to run down and stab a bunch of people, you're probably insane. I know that I don't have that urge. Do any of you? The insanity lies in the urge to end so many lives as violently as this.

Now, often this is a political plea to not face the death penalty which, as any person who has studied it knows, is neither a deterrent or a means of getting one's loved ones back. It's a fruitless endeavor.

So now we are faced with the cries for blood from the populace. That is the basis of retributive justice, to placate the family of the victims and the society at large.

In the face of this kind of tragedy, maybe we should look to philosophy and moral discussion because stringing this guy up isn't going to bring anybody back. Nor is it proven to prevent future crimes.

I think it's true that advanced societies can be judged by how they treat their offenders. Look at America versus Sweden, and who has the greater recidivism rate, and higher quality of living.

I know you won't hear me though.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Of course he is insane.. but that no excuse to let him live.. even more reason to drop him in boiling lava.. old school.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Well I was right all along.

The right plea is being entered. If he was in fact mentally at the time or has a history of mental illness he should not be tried for murder. It's better to seek the truth and heal than to punish to satisfy one's anger.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

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