Buffalo, New York – AP: “Psychiatric defense likely in NY wife beheading”
— AP reports:
— “A man accused of beheading his wife at the television station they founded to counter stereotypes of Muslims is likely to claim emotional distress was behind the killing in hopes of avoiding a murder conviction.
— “Muzzammil Hassan, 45, is scheduled to be tried in January on a charge of second-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan. A psychiatric defense would allow jurors to find him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter, according to Hassan’s attorney, who made his plans known during a pretrial conference Friday.”
— “‘Extreme emotional disturbance is not an insanity defense,’ attorney James Harrington said afterward. ‘It’s related to the state of mind of the person at the time.'”