QUESTION

Can my brother recant his stament after lying under oath and can my sister still plead insanity when she didn’t?

Asked on Aug 30th, 2016 on Criminal Law - Michigan
More details to this question:
My sister in law is 37. She is a paranoid schizophrenic. She does not take her medication and needs professional help. Her and my brother argued and she ended up stabbing him. My brother told the police she did not stab him but the evidence from the knife proves different with his blood and her finger prints. No one was there to see her stab him in the apartment. The only witness was a lady who seen my brother run in a store to get help and then seen my sister come in after. The woman testified from what she seen when they ran in the store that was it. Also my sister came to the hospital to see if our brother was ok. I'm sure that tells the police something. I believe if anyone in the right mind would not come to see the person they stabbed if they wanted to hurt them. I believe they would run but she didn’t. I was very worried. She has had episodes and hears voices sometimes not remembering what happened. My sister did not plead insanity and told the police that she didn't do it as well. Very sad this has happened. I personally believe this is due from her not taking her meds. Other than that her and my brother are best friends! Do they still have a fighting chance to save each other from being charged? If recanted his statement? And told them she’s mentally ill? Knowing he can't talk to her. I hate to see me lose both my older brother and sister. I am only 20. My brother is 30. They are both amazing despite a mental illness that has not been treated properly. I wish I was a professional at this point in time.
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1 ANSWER

Criminal Law Attorney serving Royal Oak, MI at James S. Lawrence
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Possibly the brother could refuse to testify, citing his 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The prosecutor could get him to testify only by offering him immunity. Then he can testify as to the truth, whatever that is. If there is no testimony she did the stabbing, that could result in a directed verdict of not guilty from the judge, or a not guilty from the jury. If someone takes a knife from my kitchen drawer and kills someone with it, the fact that my prints are on the knife does not make me guilty of the stabbing. However, if the brother made "excited utterances" about the cause of the injury, those out of court statements would be admissible into evidence at a trial, with testimony from the people who heard him make the statements. Whether something qualifies as excited utterance is a question of law that is highly dependent on the testimony,. If she does not want to claim incompetence or insanity, you cannot make her claim it. The attorney theoretically could ask for a competency exam, and the judge might grant it. Competency to stand trial is decided by the judge. Legal insanity (which almost never wins) is decided by a jury.
Answered on Sep 27th, 2016 at 11:45 AM

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