Pennsylvania § 315 Insanity

Pennsylvania Statutes

§ 315 — Insanity

Pennsylvania § 315

Title 18CRIMES AND OFFENSES

PartPART I

Ch. 3CULPABILITY

This text of Pennsylvania § 315 (Insanity) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 315 (2026).

Text

(a)General rule.--The mental soundness of an actor engaged in conduct charged to constitute an offense shall only be a defense to the charged offense when the actor proves by a preponderance of evidence that the actor was legally insane at the time of the commission of the offense.

(b)Definition.--For purposes of this section, the phrase "legally insane" means that, at the time of the commission of the offense, the actor was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or, if the actor did know the quality of the act, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.

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(a) General rule.--The mental soundness of an actor engaged in conduct charged to constitute an offense shall only be a defense to the charged offense when the actor proves by a preponderance of evidence that the actor was legally insane at the time of the commission of the offense.

(b) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the phrase "legally insane" means that, at the time of the commission of the offense, the actor was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or, if the actor did know the quality of the act, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.

Legislative History

(Dec. 15, 1982, P.L.1262, No.286, eff. 90 days) 1982 Amendment.Act 286 added section 315. Section 4 of Act 286 provided that Act 286 shall apply to all indictments or informations filed on or after the effective date of Act 286.