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Ferre
Cannabis Sacrament Minister.
Joined: 14 Apr 2003
Posts: 7295
Location: Amsterdam
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 Posted: Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:46 am Post subject: Cannibal's defence: Pot made me do it |
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The latest in the defence tool kit for lawyers; "marijuana-induced psychosis" made their clients commit crimes, in the case of a man convicted of first-degree murder in a case in which authorities said he dismembered and cooked his wife's body in their Summit Township restaurant this bullcrap is actually what the defence is using in a request for a new trial.
http://www.mlive.com/news/citpat/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fnews-27%2F1229094330107300.xml&coll=3
| Quote: |
By Danielle Quisenberry
dquisenberry@citpat.com -- 768-4929
A man convicted of first-degree murder in a case in which authorities said he dismembered and cooked his wife's body in their Summit Township restaurant is seeking a new trial.
The request is based on what his defense says is new evidence he was in a state of marijuana-induced psychosis at the time of the killing.
At a hearing Thursday in Jackson County Circuit Court, Dr. Joseph Galdi said he was not questioned at Kevin Artz's trial about findings that indicated Artz was intoxicated by marijuana when he killed his wife, making it possible he did not do it intentionally.
``There was a high likelihood he was displaying marijuana psychosis,'' said Galdi, a retired consulting forensic examiner at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry in Saline. Galdi testified at the 2001 trial of the former co-owner of Kip's Pizza Taco House, 2319 Main Street off W. Michigan Avenue.
Authorities said Artz, now 52, used a metal bar to bludgeon to death Patricia Artz, 46, in July 1999.
A state of marijuana psychosis is characterized by intense fear, heavy drowsiness and visual illusions, Galdi said. Artz perceived his wife to be a demon, Galdi said Thursday.
At the time of the trial, the defense, led by Joseph Filip, now a Jackson County district judge, argued Artz was insane or mentally incapable of the crime. It did not argue his mental state was impaired by marijuana, which trial testimony indicated he smoked on a regular basis.
The jury did not buy the defense's 2001 trial arguments and now-retired Circuit Judge Edward Grant sentenced Artz to life in prison. He is lodged at the Gus Harrison Correctional Facility in Adrian.
Artz has since appealed his conviction. The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the jury's verdict in April 2003 and the state Supreme Court refused in October 2003 to hear his appeal.
New testimony could give him another chance.
Galdi wrote a letter about his findings of marijuana psychosis in September 2007 to federal Judge John Corbett O'Meara of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Thursday's deliberations centered on the letter.
Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson did not make a decision Thursday and the hearing is to continue Monday.
Assistant Prosecutor Jerrold Schrotenboer said the defense was given the marijuana information and pointed out to Galdi instances in the trial transcript where the drug was mentioned. |
I think we can all agree that this man has a few serious mental issues, but to blame Cannabis for cannibalism and visual illusions which make people appear as demons, as stated in that report, is something one can only sell to people who've never experienced Cannabis themselves, sadly enough apparently someone is buying that crap.
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