18 U.S.C. § 17 (2024)
This is the official text of 18 U.S.C. § 17 (2024), part of Federal (US Code)’s United States Code — the codified general and permanent federal statutes of the United States, organized into more than 50 numbered titles by subject.
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Insanity defense
Official statutory text
(a) Affirmative Defense.—It is an affirmative defense to a prosecution under any Federal statute that, at the time of the commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his acts. Mental disease or defect does not otherwise constitute a defense.
(b) Burden of Proof.—The defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence.
(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §402(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2057, §20; renumbered §17, Pub. L. 99–646, §34(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3599.)
(b) Burden of Proof.—The defendant has the burden of proving the defense of insanity by clear and convincing evidence.
(Added Pub. L. 98–473, title II, §402(a), Oct. 12, 1984, 98 Stat. 2057, §20; renumbered §17, Pub. L. 99–646, §34(a), Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3599.)
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
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