Aschbacher v. State

In Aschbacher v. State, 61 S.W.3d 532, 535 (Tex. App.--San Antonio 2001, pet. ref'd), the defendant suffered from a delusional disorder. Aschbacher, 61 S.W.3d at 534. Aschbacher killed an individual who he believed was "monitoring his activities for the purposes of having him killed." Id. Three defense experts testified Aschbacher was "unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct." Id. at 536. The appellate court looked to the State's expert witness testimony, evidence of Aschbacher's attempted disposal of the murder weapon, and Aschbacher's unprovoked confession to a witness at the scene that he had shot the victim. Id. The court ultimately held that "although Aschbacher's conduct before the murder was somewhat strange, his actions during and immediately following the killing indicate Aschbacher knew his conduct was wrong." Id. at 537. Despite the existence of controverting evidence regarding Aschbacher's ability to distinguish right from wrong, the court maintained the jury "reasonably could have resolved the conflicting evidence regarding legal insanity against Aschbacher." Id.