No one wants to be convicted of a crime. Jail and fines are never fun. It’s no surprise then why people come up with a plethora of creative excuses for why they aren’t guilty. Unfortunately though, much like telling your teacher that your dog ate your homework, in reality, these excuses never work, regardless of how convoluted or interesting they may be. However, that hasn’t stop people from trying.
A prominent New York doctor is putting her luck to the test with her own peculiar defense. Diana Williamson, 56, is claiming that her alleged crime was done by her alter ego, Nala. Williamson has been accused of defrauding Medicaid out of approximately $300,000. Prosecutors say the doctor wrote fake prescriptions for oxycodone paid through the program and then resold the drugs for profit. It’s a pretty serious offense, made all the more serious by the allegation that this was only one part of a $1 million conspiracy. If convicted, Williamson could face up to 11 years in prison. Ouch.
Williamson has been practicing medicine for decades. She’s led a prominent medical career and is well-known for her work to establish an AIDS hospital. But, as noted above, what’s most interesting about her case is her defense.
Williamson claims she suffers from multiple personality disorder. She states that the problem stemmed from childhood trauma in which she was sexually abused by a priest. As a result, her lawyer argues the incident caused Nala, a “mischievous, irresponsible, reckless” and apparently criminal persona within her to develop.
But that’s not all folks. Apparently, Nala committed the illegal acts entirely on her own, and didn’t bother to let Williamson or any of her other personalities know. How rude. You’d think that if you shared a body with someone, the least you could do is give them a heads up if you plan to spearhead a seven-figure criminal conspiracy.
In all seriousness though, multiple personality or dissociative identity disorder is a serious medical condition. While debate continues among psychologists as to how many people are actually afflicted by the illness, the majority agree that it often develops as result of childhood traumas, such as physical and mental abuse and molestation.
The problem is that in terms court defenses, MPD doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to acquittals. The reason is because MPD is considered a type of insanity defense. And as such, it’s subject to the incredibly tough-to-meet insanity test.
Despite what terrible shows like “Law and Order” would lead you to believe, acquittals via the insanity defense are very rare. A defendant generally must prove that their mental defect prevented them from appreciating the wrongful nature of their actions and/or made them unable to conform to the law at the time of the incident.
It sounds simple enough, but the problem lies in proving that the defendant actually had a mental defect and that it existed at the time of the crime. This usually results in a lot of experts from both side spouting a lot of conflicting information that generally leaves the jury confused, but usually just enough to believe that no insanity defense applies.
In Williamson’s case, this is no different. About the only thing she has going for her is a decades old diagnosis establishing her multiple personality disorder. Unfortunately, many other defendants also possessed similar credentials that were ultimately shot down after the opposing counsel dug in.
Fortunately for Williamson, she might have a little more luck in her case since she’s not actually seeking acquittal from her charge, but rather a reduction to her potential sentence. Which is good since her judge doesn’t seem too keen on her MPD defense. The judge cited her disbelief stemmed from the incongruity between Williamson’s ability to lead a prominent medical care and found an AIDS hospital without incident from her alleged MPD. Definitely not a good sign of a successful insanity plea.
For now, we’ll have to wait and see whether Williamson’s MPD insanity defense will play out in her favor. Just don’t expect any miracles.