Insanity Defense Accepted In Texas Campus Stabbing Attack
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — A judge has found a former University of Texas student not guilty by reason of insanity in a random stabbing attack that left one student dead and three injured last year.
The Austin American-Statesman reports that State District Judge Tamara Needles found Kendrex White not guilty by reason of insanity on Tuesday. That came after prosecutors said they agreed with an assessment from a doctor for the defense who said White was suffering from severe mental illness at the time of the attack and couldn't discern right from wrong.
White was charged with murder in the attack in which student Harrison Brown was killed.
Brown was a beloved member of the community. His death left many reeling. Friends described him as handsome and athletic. Brown could sing, play trumpet and guitar and act. He was an engineering student in high school who friends said also had an interest in medicine, after his father was diagnosed with ALS. He was the one teachers said they expected to see on TV one day.
UT President Greg Fenves tweeted: "Leading with the heart, not only will bring success, but also joy and happiness..." I hope that we will all continue to be inspired by these words and kindness that Harrison Brown left us.
White's lawyers had filed paperwork with the court that waived White's right to a jury trial.
The judge will order him confined to a state hospital.
