Veteran's insanity plea wins in assault case

A Vietnam veteran, who blamed a combat flashback for a five-hour standoff with police in which he fired a shotgun from a window of his home, was found innocent of aggravated assault by reason of insanity.

Calling the verdict a victory for Vietnam veterans who still suffer trauma from the war, defendant Michael Ashley had claimed he suffered from a disorder that caused him to relive his experiences in Vietnam.

The prosecutor called Mr. Ashley's flashback defense "the latest off-the-shelf, pop-psychology theory of delayed stress."