The Insanity Question

Abstract

This chapter considers whether Fukunaga was legally sane or insane when he killed Gill Jamieson, a lingering issue because of the ninety-minute examination given him by the three psychiatrists who testified he was legally sane. The chapter reviews the study by University of Hawai‘i professor Lockwood Myrick Jr., who contended Fukunaga was legally insane because he was compelled by a force he could not withstand—his desire for revenge against the Hawaiian Trust Co. Besides the inability to differentiate between right and wrong, being unable to resist a compelling force was another criterion of legal insanity according to Hawai‘i law. The chapter argues that, based on his actions and statements, Fukunaga appeared to know the difference between right and wrong and that killing Gill was wrong.