Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan founded Bridges TV to project a positive, moderate image of American Muslims. And everything was going just great until he beheaded his wife in the Bridges studios. Now he wants to use the insanity defense, which was previously disallowed. But there is ample precedent for jihadists being declared insane in the U.S., so what’s one more?
“Judge reserves Hassan ruling,” by Matt Gryta for the Buffalo News, August 14 (thanks to Mark):
A judge Friday reserved decision on whether Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan can use an insanity-based emotional disturbance defense in his upcoming trial for allegedly beheading his wife.
Erie County Judge Thomas P. Franzyk previously barred the defense team from using such a defense.
Franzyk, who is slated to begin jury selection Sept. 7 in Hassan’s trial in the 2009 beheading of Aasiya Zubair Hassan, did not indicate when he intends to rule on the motion argued by Hassan’s lawyers, Jeremy D. Schwartz and Julie Atti Rogers.
Erie County District Attorney Frank A. Sedita III and Homicide Prosecutor Colleen Curtin Gable opposed overturning the order, which the judge issued Jan. 22 after repeated delays by Hassan’s legal team in disclosing their planned defense….