Art. 652 Burden of proof

If a person charged with a crime wants to claim they were legally insane when the crime happened, they are the one who has to prove it. The state does not have to prove the person was sane. Instead, the defendant must show it themselves.

The standard they have to meet is called "preponderance of the evidence." This means the defendant needs to show it is more likely than not that they were insane at the time of the offense. It does not require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a much higher bar. It just means the evidence has to tip slightly in favor of the insanity claim being true.

This matters because it puts the responsibility on the defense to bring evidence, like doctor evaluations or expert testimony, to support the insanity claim. If the defendant does not bring enough evidence to meet this standard, the court will not accept the insanity defense, even if there is some doubt about the person's mental state.