Here are two criminal cases in Maine in which defendants invoked an insanity defense.

• State v. Bechard: Somerset County Superior Court, Skowhegan, 1996

Mark Bechard was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder secondary to his attacks on four nuns at the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament, a Waterville convent. Psychologist Charles Robinson testified that Bechard lacked the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of his actions. He was found not criminally responsible by a judge. Robinson’s testimony focused on the effects of delusions and hallucinations.

• State v. Kigas: Penobscot County Superior Court, Bangor, 1995

Tonia Kigas starved to death her younger daughter over a period of five weeks. Robinson testified the mother suffered from hallucinations and delusions that caused her to believe she was pregnant with a child fathered telepathically by jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. She also believed she was being tormented by devil worshippers in her apartment complex. The combined symptoms caused her to believe her child was possessed by evil and could be delivered back to God only in death through starvation. Kigas was found not criminally responsible.