Legal Definitions - black-rage insanity defense

The black-rage insanity defense is a type of insanity defense used in criminal law. It is an affirmative defense that claims a mental disorder caused the accused to commit the crime. Unlike other defenses, a successful insanity defense may not result in acquittal but instead in a special verdict ("not guilty by reason of insanity") that usually leads to the defendant's commitment to a mental institution.

An example of the black-rage insanity defense is when an African-American person commits a violent crime due to racial tensions. This defense was first used in the mid-1990s.

For instance, if an African-American person is provoked by racial slurs and commits a violent crime, they may use the black-rage insanity defense to argue that their mental state was affected by the racial tensions and that they were not fully responsible for their actions.