The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, July 20, 1982-Page 3
BILL WILL DRASTICALLY LIMIT INSANITY DEFENSE
Reagan backs insanity plea bill
WASHINGTON (AP)- The Reagan administration
endorsed a proposal yesterday to drastically limit
use of the insanity defense in federal criminal cases,
holding the defendant responsible if he "knew he was
shooting at a human being to kill him."
Without directly mentioning President Reagan's
assailant, John Hinckley, Attorney General William
French Smith said the bill is designed to all but
eliminate mental illness as a defense for criminal
conduct.
"THE CRIMINAL justice system has tilted too
decidedly in favor of the rights of criminals and
against the rights of society," Smith told the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
He said the bill, sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-
Utah) "would effectively eliminate the insanity
defense except in those rare cases in which the
defendant lacked the state of mind required as an
element of the offense."
A mental disease or defect would be no defense
if a defendant knew he was shooting at a human being
City votes
to reduce
police
assigned to
University
By GEORGE ADAMS
Ann Arbor City Council voted last night
to reduce the number of police patrol
officers assigned to the University, in
compliance with a request made by
University Safety Director Walter
Stevens.
The resolution provides that the
University squad be reduced from eight
patrol officers and two detectives to
seven patrol officers and two detec-
tives. The officer removed from the
University patrol will be reassigned
elsewhere in the city. The resolution
passed 8-1, with the only dissenting vote
coming from Council member Gerald
Jernigan (R-Fourth Ward). Coun-
cilemembers E. Edward Hood (R-
Fourth Ward) and Raphael Ezekiel
(D-Third Ward) were absent.
STEVENS. said the request to reduce
thepoice patrol was made because of"fncilostat"sem ngrm
a 5 percent budget decrease for the
1982-83 fiscal year. The University
currently pays Ann Arbor more than WASHI
$370,000 annually for police protection. in blister
Both Stevens and John Weidenbach, urged tho
director of the University's Business workers
Operations Office, said one less stitutiona
patrolman would save at least $28,000 budget or
annually, plus fringe benefits. Capitol
A letter from Ann Arbor Police Chief the Whil
William Corbett to Acting City Ad- 25,000 bu
ministator Godfrey Collins, however, the figur(
revealed that the cost of the one officer four time
would be $38,637, including an 8 percent "Crisi
increase in salary and 44.3 percent Reagan s
average fringe costs. This would make face a cr
the University's payment for the wall of w
coming year - minus the patrol officer tween us
-$334,763. "I HAV
Mayor Louis Belcher supported the budget i
resolution, saying "The University and virtue: Y
the city have virtually grown up 'no', " s
together, and the U of M has always endorsed
come through when we needed things Vice P
beyond our normal contracts." about 13
to kill him," he continued.
"MENTAL DISEASE or defect would constitute a
defense only if the defendant did not even know he
had a gun in his hand or thought, for example, that he
was shooting at a tree."
Smith offered the administration's first formal
support for a major change in the insanity defense
since June 21, when Hinckley was acquitted by
reason of insanity.
Hinckley has been committed to a mental hospital
and can only be freed if he is found by psychiatrists to
be no threat to himself or society and a court accepts
the finding.
TEN DAYS after the verdict, Reagan
acknowledged the public outcry over the acquittal of
the man who attempted to assassinate him on March
30, 1981. The president said the law placed an unfair
burden on the prosecution.
"The thing that has also caused a lot of criticism is
the fact that the ruling placed on the back of the
prosecution the need to prove that someone was sane
rather than the other way of proving that he was in-
sane," Reagan said.
"... And you know if you start thinking about even
a lot of your friends you would have to say 'gee, if I
had to prove they were sane I would have a hard job,' "
he said.
IN THE HINCKLEY case, the jury was told to find
the defendant innocent if it decided the prosecution
had failed to prove that he was sane.
Smith's position yesterday went beyond calling for
a shift in the burden of proving sanity or insanity.
In endorsing the Hatch bill, Smith said, "this would
abolish the insanity defense to the maximum extent
permitted under the Constitution and would make
mental illness a factor to be considered at the time of
sentencing, just like any other mitigating factor."
He said the measure would "eliminate entirely the
presentation at trial of confusing psychiatric
testimony."
AP Photo
Hot streak
A bicyclist at the south edge of Las Vegas braves the 110 degree heat to get his daily exercise.
eagan pushes budget amendent
From APand UPI
NGTON - President Reagan,
ring heat n the Capitol steps,
usands of tourists and federal
yesterday to support a con-
l amendment to balance the
r face "ruin by red ink."
Police estimated the crowd at
Ie House-organized rally at
t several other observers said
e appeared inflated by three or
es.
s is a much-abused word,"
aid. "But can we deny that we
isis, that no more than a thin
avering willpower stands bet-
and ruin by red ink?"
VE SAID before, balancing the
s a little like protecting your
You just have to learn to say
aid Reagan, who himself has
budgets with record deficits.
President George Bush and
0 members of Congress were
among those who attended the in-
vitation-only rally in 95-degree summer
heat n the west steps of the Capitol
where Reagan was inaugurated 18
months ago.
At least a dozen people collapsed in
the heat and were helped to ambulan-
ces.
TO ENSURE a good turnout, the
Republican National Committee han-
ded out invitations and small American
flags at subway and bus stops, to tour
buses and at tour sites. And the
bureaucracy's civil servants receive
letters from Reagan urging them to at-
tend.
House Democratic leader Jim Wright
of Texas called the rally "unabashed
show business" and blamed the deficit
on Reagan, saying if the president
really wants to balance the budget he
would reduce tax cuts for the rich.
As Reagan spoke, the Senate set to
work on the biggest tax increase in
history, a grab-bag of more than 50
provisions whose bite would be felt
chiefly by corporations and high-
income investors.
The measure also doubles the tax on
cigarettes and telephone service, shar-
ply limits the tax deduction for medical
expenses, and cracks down on tax
cheats by imposing a 10 percent
withholding on interest and dividends.
Also included in the package is $17.5
billion in cuts in Medicare, Medicaid,
and aid to the needy over the next three
years in an effort to reduce the federal
deficit.
President Reagan said in a letter to
Senate leaders that the package "will
lead us on a downward path of deficit
reduction, improve the fairness of the
tax system and maintain the integrity
of my economic recovery program."
"Although I do have some reser-
vations about a few items, it is a good
and balanced bill which I can endorse,"
the president said.