Caffeine Intoxication

Full Story here.

"A Kentucky man accused of strangling his wife is poised to claim excessive caffeine from sodas, energy drinks and diet pills left him so mentally unstable he couldn't have knowingly killed her, his lawyer has notified a court.

Woody Will Smith, 33, is scheduled for trial starting Monday on a murder charge in the May 2009 death of Amanda Hornsby-Smith, 28.

Defense attorney Shannon Sexton filed notice with the Newport court of plans to argue his client ingested so much caffeine in the days leading up to the killing that it rendered him temporarily insane — unable even to form the intent of committing a crime.

Sexton declined requests for comment on the defense strategy he indicated he would pursue in filings before the court.


Strategy has worked
A legal strategy invoking caffeine intoxication is unusual but has succeeded at least once before, in a case involving a man cleared in 2009 of charges of running down and injuring two people with a car in Washington state.

Dr. Roland Griffiths, a professor of behavioral biology at Johns Hopkins University has noted in an unrelated study that there is a diagnosis for "caffeine intoxication," which includes nervousness, excitement, insomnia and possibly rambling speech.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, said their own expert may testify there was no evidence Smith had consumed diet pills or energy drinks as he claimed before his wife died."

As a coffee addict, I am scared - are you?

As a coffee addict, I am scared - are you?

entropyecho

Diet pills. I wonder if they still make those Stacker 3s. Those things will **** you up.DrOldGuy

No kidding - crazy stuff.

[QUOTE="entropyecho"]

As a coffee addict, I am scared - are you?

rawsavon

It wasn't me it was Dunkin' Donuts and Red Bull :cry:

not sure I buy this. Heck I'm not sure if the lawyer buys this either.

not sure I buy this. Heck I'm not sure if the lawyer buys this either.

Serraph105

It's all about what you can prove anyway - not about "truth."

I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.t3hrubikscube

and yet another person db blaiming his own pathetic actions on something unrelated.....obviously feels no remorse nor takes any responsibility of his own actions.....Omni-Slash

You've clearly never tripped balls on Red Bull espressos.

I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.t3hrubikscube

Aww, you say pop; that's adorable. I say soda. :)

I might have to change it to death-juice soon though...

[QUOTE="t3hrubikscube"]I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.DrOldGuy

[QUOTE="t3hrubikscube"]I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.entropyecho

Aww, you say pop; that's adorable. I say soda. :)

I might have to change it to death-juice soon though...

You've clearly never tripped balls on Red Bull espressos.

entropyecho

I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.t3hrubikscube

Soda! :x

[QUOTE="t3hrubikscube"]I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.Dark_Knight6

Soda! :x

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

[QUOTE="t3hrubikscube"]I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.t3hrubikscube

Soda! :x

[QUOTE="Dark_Knight6"]

[QUOTE="t3hrubikscube"]I chugged several cans of pop this morning. WATCH OUT.t3hrubikscube

Soda! :x

I am kidding, of course. :D

You say that now...t3hrubikscube

I think this guy was just ****ed up to begin with.

Let me do the danger check list on me...

Kentuckian: Check

Caffeine addict: check

Gun collection: check

:twisted:

I put this in the "video games made me do it" category.

I put this in the "video games made me do it" category.

sonicare

You are not ingesting a chemical when you play video games.

You are not ingesting a chemical when you play video games.

entropyecho

The "I drank too much Red Bull" defense. LOL

While the whole "using caffeine as an excuse for murder" thing is a bit much, I really don't think most people realize just how bad caffeine is for you and how much it actually effects you.

First off, in a purely physical sense, caffeine has some interesting effects on the body. Everyone knows how caffeine can cause headaches, but most people don't recognize that it can actually make you feel naseus. I have a stomach disorder called a hiatal hernia and caffeine is a direct cause of my having that disorder. It was once I stopped drinking caffeine the way I did that I stopped getting random boughts of naseua from that chronic stomach condition.

Where I think it is really important to recognze how much caffeine effects us is in the more psychological aspects of caffeine. First off, caffeine is a fuel for anxiety disorders, and the first thing you are supposed to do when diagnosed with an anxiety disorder is to stop all caffeine intake. Caffeine is so powerful there that they actually have a "caffeine induced anxiety disorder" in the DSM (the manual that lists all the psychiatric disorders and what they entail. This is THE book that all psychologists and psychiatrists must know and refer to when diagnosing and treating patients).

There are actually 3 OTHER caffeine based diagnoses in the DSM: caffeine intoxication, caffeine induced sleep-disorder, and caffeine related disorder not otherwise specified. This is just how potent caffeine is. They also recognize caffeine withdrawals as well. I personally got to experience those a little over a year ago now after I went from pounding 4 energy drinks per one shift at work to absolutely NO caffeine. They lasted about a week and involved me getting night sweats, random headaches, and having a completely unstable mood. I was basically a SEVERE bi-polar patient for a good week...

Oh and it is also possible to OD on caffeine, but you would have to try to pull that off. Just think of it this way though, downing a bottle of caffeine pills is just as potent a form of suicide as downing a bottle of pills in your medicine cabinet. It is interesting how caffeine never seems to get recognized for just how dangerous it is. I bet 90% of adults here in the US are addicted to it. It really is the most wide-spread drug there is.

and yet another person db blaiming his own pathetic actions on something unrelated.....obviously feels no remorse nor takes any responsibility of his own actions.....Omni-Slash