United States v. Robert Gerald Knott

We consider here the effect of a defendant’s voluntary intoxication and drug use on his insanity defense under the Insanity Defense Reform Act, 18 U.S.C. § 17 .

BACKGROUND

Robert Gerald Knott and his accomplice Jeffrey Frost indulged in a nine-day crime spree that included several kidnappings.

Prior to the kidnappings that are the subject of this case, the pair kidnapped an elderly couple in Nevada, stole the proceeds of their travelers checks, and left them bound and gagged in a motel. Next they kidnapped an elderly man in Oregon, stole his truck, and abandoned him in a forest.

Knott and Frost then proceeded to another town in Oregon where they abducted the husband, wife, and child whose kidnapping we address. They rented a room from the couple and waited for the husband to leave the motel. They then confronted the wife with a gun, stole from the cash box, and forced her and her infant daughter to accompany them to her living quarters. When the husband arrived he was greeted at gunpoint and told the family would be shot if he did not cooperate.

The next day the kidnappers took the hostages to a nearby city and forced them to withdraw money from their bank account. After…