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Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff
(1) The applicable test of insanity shall be:
(a) A person who is so diseased or defective in mind at the time of the commission of the act as to be incapable of distinguishing right from wrong with respect to that act is not accountable; except that care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred, or other motives and kindred evil conditions, for, when the act is induced by any of these causes, the person is accountable to the law; or
(b) A person who suffered from a condition of mind caused by mental disease or defect that prevented the person from forming a culpable mental state that is an essential element of a crime charged, but care should be taken not to confuse such mental disease or defect with moral obliquity, mental depravity, or passion growing out of anger, revenge, hatred, or other motives and kindred evil conditions because, when the act is induced by any of these causes, the person is accountable to the law.
(2) As used in this section:
(a) “Diseased or defective in mind” does not refer to an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct. Evidence of knowledge or awareness of the victim's actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation shall not constitute inability to distinguish right from wrong.
(b) “Gender identity” and “gender expression” have the same meaning as in section 18-1-901(3)(h.5).
(c) “Mental disease or defect” includes only those severely abnormal mental conditions that grossly and demonstrably impair a person's perception or understanding of reality and that are not attributable to the voluntary ingestion of alcohol or any other psychoactive substance but does not include an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal or otherwise antisocial conduct.
(d) “Sexual orientation” has the same meaning as in section 18-9-121(5)(b).
(3) This section shall apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 1995.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Colorado Revised Statutes Title 16. Criminal Proceedings § 16-8-101.5. Insanity defined--offenses committed on and after July 1, 1995--definitions - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/co/title-16-criminal-proceedings/co-rev-st-sect-16-8-101-5/
FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature before relying on it for your legal needs.
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