Defense lawyers for sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo say their client had been brainwashed - a victim of "indoctrination" by older co-defendant John Allen Muhammad - and plan to use the argument to propel an insanity defense.
In previous motions and hearings, Malvo's attorneys have argued their client was "under the spell" of Muhammad. For the defense to work, lawyers must show jurors that Malvo could not tell right from wrong at the time of the shootings.
Lawyer Craig Cooley will rely on privately retained mental health experts who have examined Malvo, not the expert appointed by the court. Cooley called indoctrination a form of mental illness and said it will be up to the jury to decide if it amounts to insanity.
"This case is so bizarre in its facts, and the degree of indoctrination is so severe, that we would be remiss if we failed" to put the sanity issue before a jury, Cooley said at a hearing Thursday.
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