God Told Me To: Deanna Laney and the Insanity Defense in Court

In this episode, we examine the case of Deanna Laney — a mother who killed two of her sons and seriously injured a third, claiming God told her to do it. What followed wasn’t a debate over guilt, but a legal examination of criminal responsibility and mental illness. Through expert testimony, psychiatric evaluations, and the courtroom’s handling of the insanity defense, we break down how the justice system responded to one of Texas’s most controversial verdicts.