"We're all Mad Here"
I had a dream once. Actually, more of an interesting nightmare…
I’d had a summer flu. Burning in furious sweat one moment and then chattering cold another. The pain in my throat would rouse me awake on every swallow. It was the third day of this and I do have to admit I don’t suffer well. So, my wife was sleeping on the couch.
All of the sudden I was in a parking lot in nighttime. I remember it seemed like it had just rained. The parking lot was pretty sprawling like a mall parking lot: the lot was empty and cold, lit by tall light posts with faded amber light.
I remember thinking: wow my throat doesn’t hurt.
Then, without warning or transition, I was pulled down into a vortex.
Down through a wormhole into a giant metal tester. I was found to be un-pure and was destroyed endlessly in a crushing furnace. (See, Ezekiel 22.)
Just as suddenly as I was pulled into the black hole, I was standing in my living room sitting on my couch. Two paramedics and my wife stood above me.
My tongue felt like silver, like it was conducting electricity.
The paramedics looked pissed off. My wife looked pissed off.
The paramedic said to me, “You don’t even have a fever. If you were a baby we would give you a Tylenol.”
They wheeled out the gurney. And walked out my front door to the flashing red lights of the ambulance.
My wife looked worn out and annoyed as she sat down next to me.
She looked at me and said:
“You are ridiculous. Was that another one of those dreams? Do you know what just happened?
“No” I said.
“I was sleeping on the couch and you came crashing down the hall yelling, “I’m dying. I’m dying".
“You told me to call 911! I called my mom, the nurse, and she said the last patient who thought he was dying ended up dying so I should.
I knew that would happen. As soon as they get here you snap out of it!
Unbelievable!!”
As she was telling me this, it started to dawn on me I was no longer dreaming…
Florida law has a test for sanity. Someone is insane if they had a mental infirmity, disease or defect and because of that condition, they either:
Did not know what he or she was doing or its consequences; or
Although the defendant knew what he or she was doing and its consequences, the defendant did not know that what he or she was doing was wrong.
Setting aside the mental defect part (opinions may differ if I have a mental defect...but, hey, I was medically cleared by the paramedic)…
I have wondered…was I insane under Florida law?
I think so…and luckily…the misuse of 911 charge was never filed. Luckily I woke up.
But I can’t help but sympathize with the individual who isn’t the sleepwalker. I saw things that weren’t there for a couple minutes. Some people see them for longer. And some people see other things. Some people hear other things.
Cultures across the world call people suffering from this different things: lunatic, demon possessed, psychotic, etc..
When one of these poor souls commits a crime, the legal system looks to the above test to see if the person is legally insane. But there is more to it…
People throughout history have faked crazy. It’s easy to do because there aren’t physical signs of mental illness. Needless to say, the system tends to get a little cynical.
The cynicism has found its way into the law.
In the criminal justice system, the defendant has to be proven guilty and they are presumed innocent. The government’s lawyer has the burden of proving guilt and overcoming the presumption of innocent. These are the safeguards to protect the innocent.
A big exception to these safeguards: when the accused uses the insanity defense.
The law is that the accused is to be presumed sane by the jury. Sane is guilty when you are using an insanity defense. When using an insanity defense you are presumed guilty.
The law is that the accused has to prove they are insane by clear and convincing evidence they pass the above sanity test. That means the accused, not the government, must provide enough evidence to the jury that they were crazy that the jury has no hesitation. The accused must prove to the jury beyond hesitation something exists that is invisible.
This is our system. Seemingly simple but complex. This is why you need a lawyer if you are caught in it. It is not impossible to get out with the right guide through it.
It has been many months since my last mild fever. But as they say in the psychology world, “Sanity is fleeting.”