The Alaska appeals court has upheld the murder convictions against an Anchorage woman in the death of her three sons.
Cynthia Lord was convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in the 2004 shooting deaths of sons Christopher, Michael and Joseph. A judge in the non-jury trial found her guilty but mentally ill. Lord’s attorney argued she was not guilty by reason of insanity, and in her appeal said Judge Philip Volland erred in his verdict.
The Legislature in the early 1980s limited the circumstances under which a defendant could be acquitted using an insanity defense.
Lord also argued state laws related to the defense of insanity are unconstitutional.
Friday, the appeals court said Volland’s findings are supported by the case record, and it upheld the constitutionality of the laws.
