Accused UAH shooter Amy Bishop to pursue insanity defense | al.com

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Attorneys for Amy Bishop have signaled to the trial judge they intend to pursue a defense of "not guilty by reason of insanity," for the former University of Alabama in Huntsville professor accused of killing three colleagues and wounding three others at a faculty meeting, according to a court filing last month.

In response, Madison County Circuit Judge Alan Mann ordered an examination of Bishop by a psychologist under contract with the State of Alabama.

Bishop faces a capital murder charge for the Feb. 12, 2010, shooting deaths of three UAH biology faculty members and attempted murder charges in the shootings of three others at the Shelby Center on the University of Alabama in Huntsville campus.

Bishop is accused of killing Dr. Maria Ragland Davis, Dr. Adriel Johnson and department chair Dr. Gopi Podila. She is also charged with attempting to kill Dr. Joseph Leahy, a biology faculty member, staff assistant Stephanie Monticciolo and professor Dr. Luis Cruz-Vera. Leahy and Monticciolo were severely wounded, and Cruz-Vera was able to return to work shortly after the incident.

Bishop's attorneys, Roy Miller and Barry Abston, as well as the prosecutors, are under a gag order in the case and are not allowed to publicly discuss it.

To be successful, the insanity defense must meet two key provisions, according to Alabama law. First, the defense must establish Bishop has a severe mental disease or defect. And secondly, as a result of those problems, the defense must prove she was unable to "appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness" of her acts.

That defense is the only one in the criminal justice system that puts the burden of proof on the defendant, said Mark McDaniel, a well-known criminal defense attorney in Huntsville.

It requires Bishop's attorneys to introduce evidence outlining her particular mental problems. McDaniel said that test is usually met in such cases.

The real difficulty lies with the second element, McDaniel said.

"In most of the cases I've had where the insanity defense was used, the acts of the defendant before, during and after the offense are critical for the defense," McDaniel said. "Anything the defendant does can be looked at. Things like, she taught a class that day, would be raised by the prosecution."

Veteran defense attorney Bruce Gardner agreed that proving the second element to a jury is a huge challenge.

"To prevail you've got to have a serious mental disease or defect, and it's not just because they did something that everybody would think is nuts," Gardner said. "The real crucible is proving that it, at that time, was what kept that person from appreciating the nature and wrongfulness of their actions."

Gardner also said the prosecution will turn attention back to Bishop's daily routine to show a record of stability.

"If you're the prosecutor, you're going to point out that she got up and went to work every day, had a checking account, ran a household, had a husband, had kids of her own, all the normal things that she does and in the days leading up to the event," he said.

Judge Mann ordered that once the examination is completed, Dr. Doug McKeown should issue a report outlining whether Bishop appears competent to stand trial. Bishop's attorneys have not raised the issue of whether she is competent for trial and can assist in her own defense.

The state doctor's report is also supposed to address whether Bishop was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the shootings, and whether there is any relationship between the offense and her condition, according to the court order.

The state has not yet indicated whether it will seek the death penalty. But the mental disease or defect argument could also come into play on that issue if Bishop is convicted, Gardner said.

"Mental state of the defendant at the time of the act is a mitigating factor in the penalty phase," Gardner said.

On the other hand, if Bishop is found not guilty by reason of insanity, she would likely be ordered to a state mental hospital until such time that a doctor can show the court that she is no longer a danger to herself or others, McDaniel said.