A mother allegedly threw her 19-month baby into the Hudson River last month and has since been charged with attempted murder. However, the 33-year-old has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder charge on Monday and now has a New York criminal defense attorney that plans to argue that she is mentally insane.
The New York Post reports that Devi Silvia tossed her child in the river and jumped off the West 70th Street Pier to get back at her husband when she was angry with him, but her and the child were saved by NYPD marine units. Seema Iyer, who is representing Devi Silvia, told says that her client has recently been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. The criminal defense attorney is arguing that the mother is not guilty of the criminal charge because she was legally insane at the time the crime was committed. Since the incident last month, Devi Silvia has been incarcerated at the Elmhurst Hospital jail ward.
FindLaw states that when it comes to the insanity defense, the state of New York uses the Model Penal Code rule. Under this test, "a person is not responsible for criminal conduct if at the time of such conduct as a result of mental disease or defect he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law." The burden of proof for insanity is on the defendant in the state of New York, where the Model Penal Code rule requires that the mental disease or defect be a mental diagnosis. To learn more about whether the insanity defense can be used in a particular case, contact a New York criminal defense attorney to learn more information.
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