Why Does the “Extreme Emotional Disturbance” Defense Exist?
At the outset, it’s worth asking precisely what gap in the criminal law this defense is intended to plug. The law also protects those suffering from a mental disease or defect. All states allow a defendant to prove that due to a recognized mental defect, the defendant was not responsible for his actions the way most of us usually are. New York law is clear, however, that an extreme emotional disturbance is something less than insanity. You don’t have to be crazy to reduce the charges from murder to manslaughter; you just have to be really, really wigged out. Nor do you have to legitimately believe you are in danger at any time – current, past, or future – to establish the extreme emotional disturbance defense. That leads to an important question: Why does this defense exist? If you are neither suffering from a mental disease or defect, nor in fear of harm – and you have actual physiological control over your actions, even though you lack emotional control – then it seems entirely reaso
