What happens to the sentence if a convict becomes insane after being sentenced?

Only the personal penalty is suspended

Article 79 deals with a convict who loses his sanity after he has already been finally sentenced. It provides that When a convict shall become insane or an imbecile after final sentence has been pronounced, the execution of said sentence shall be suspended only with regard to the personal penalty. The key limit is in the words only with regard to the personal penalty — that is, the penalty that acts on the person, such as imprisonment. The suspension does not wipe out the sentence and does not reach its money aspects: a fine and the convict's civil liability to the offended party are not suspended by his insanity. It is the service of the personal, bodily punishment that is put on hold while he is not in his right mind.

What happens if he recovers — and prescription

The suspension is temporary, not a pardon. The article continues: If at any time the convict shall recover his reason, his sentence shall be executed, unless the penalty shall have prescribed in accordance with the provisions of this Code. So if the convict regains his sanity, he is made to serve the penalty that was waiting — the illness delays the punishment, it does not erase it. There is one escape: if enough time passes that the penalty prescribes — lapses by law because too long has gone by — it can no longer be enforced even after recovery. Prescription of penalties is governed by separate provisions of the Code and runs on its own terms.

It applies during service too

The rule is not confined to the moment just after sentencing. The article makes clear that The respective provisions of this section shall also be observed if the insanity or imbecility occurs while the convict is serving his sentence. In other words, whether the convict becomes insane right after the sentence becomes final or breaks down partway through serving it, the same treatment applies: the service of the personal penalty is suspended for as long as the insanity lasts, and resumes if and when he recovers, subject again to prescription. The law's concern is consistent — it does not carry out a bodily penalty against a person who, because of his mental state, cannot meaningfully undergo it.

Different from insanity at the time of the crime

It is important not to confuse this with insanity as a defence. Article 79 assumes a valid conviction and deals only with what happens to an already-sentenced convict who later loses his reason. Insanity at the time the crime was committed is a different matter entirely — it is an exempting circumstance under Article 12 that can free a person from criminal liability altogether, with the court instead ordering confinement in a hospital, and Article 79 itself points to those confinement rules. What Article 79 does not do is reduce the penalty, and it does not help a convict who is merely ill in body rather than deprived of reason. Questions of mental fitness in a criminal case are technical and best handled with counsel.

Related provisions

• Revised Penal Code, Article 79 — Suspension For Insanity After Sentence
• Revised Penal Code, Article 12 — Exempting Circumstances: Insanity, Accident And Minority