Attorney Goldenberg’s client was found not guilty by reason of insanity following a jury-waived trial in Essex Superior Court. Her client was not involuntarily committed for further evaluation so the case is really over. Attorney Goldenberg said, “I’m happy for my client and her family who have been through so much.”
A person cannot be held responsible for a crime if they have a “mental disease or defect,” and as a result of that condition they are substantially unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of their conduct or they are substantially unable to conform their conduct to the requirements of the law. A simpler way to explain it is that the accused’s mental condition must have rendered them unable to realize that their behavior was wrong or unable to behave lawfully.
Learn more about mental illness in criminal cases