White
remember the May 2017 attack that k il l ed freshman Harrison Brown and left three students injured. That comment and other statements White made after the stabbings led some legal experts to say he has a legit
imate insanity defense. His attorney, Jana Ortega, declined to comment Monday.
White’s parents have said their son began acting differ- ently after he was involved in a wreck about a month before the attack and might have hit his head. He began giving erratic answers to their questions and had his first seizure, they said. His odd behavior led to an involun- tary commitment to a psy- chiatric facility.
The standard is high for an insanity defense, as White must show he was suffer- ing from severe mental illness and did not know right from wrong at the time of the attack. Many defendants who try for an insanity defense are tripped up by something that suggests they were aware of their wrongdoing, such as running from police, lying or discarding a weapon.
A Travis County jury has found a criminal defendant
not guilty because of insan- ity just twice.
In 2014, attorneys for Alexander Ervin argued success- fully that he had been going through a psychotic episode when he killed his father, Ray Scott Ervin.
Jackson Ngai was convinced his UT piano profes- sor, Dannielle Martin, had a computer chip in her brain and was going to kill him.
Ngai cut and stabbed Martin more than 200 times, mostly around the head. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 2005. Both men avoided prison
and were committed to a state hospital.
The next step in White’s case is for prosecutors to appoint a psychiatrist to assess his mental state at
the time of the attack. White’s lawyers have conducted a similar test through their own doctors. If the second psy
chiatrist determines White was insane at the time of Brown’s death, prosecutors
will then decide whether to present the case to a jury.
A separate test ordered by state District Judge Tamara Needles determined White to be competent, which means he is able to discuss the case
with his attorneys. White is due to appear in court on Thursday. A trial date has not been set.