Question

patty hearst is the granddaughter of a wealthy publishing magnate. in 1974 she was kidnapped by a left-wing terrorist group known as the symbionese liberation army. during her 19 months of captivity she participated in bank robberies and other crimes with the group. after her arrest and during her trial she claimed that her seemingly willing participation in the group's crimes was brought about by the brainwashing she was subjected to while in captivity. what category of defense was she using?

Answer 1

Patty Hearst used an insanity defense, arguing her participation in crimes during captivity was due to brainwashing imposing a state of diminished capacity.

Step-by-step explanation:

Patty Hearst claimed that her seemingly willing participation in the Symbionese Liberation Army's crimes was due to brainwashing she experienced while in captivity. The category of defense she was using is known as an insanity defense, commonly understood in legal terms to refer to a defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic or persistent psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act.

This defense can take various forms, one of which is the claim that the defendant was in a state of diminished capacity, as Hearst's defense claimed that her mental state, due to the brainwashing, impaired her ability to understand the criminality of her actions.