Clarke didn't argue insanity but brought her client's abusive childhood and adult depression alive for the jury.

CNN: Tsarnaev lawyer keeps hated criminals off death row

There is hardly a time when I ride my skittish thoroughbred that I don't wonder whether horses are a form of insanity.

WSJ: A Horse-Crazy Girl's Separation Vacation

And you can't--and their legal test for what insanity is, is extremely narrow.

NPR: Slate's Jurisprudence: Moussaoui's Insanity Defense

His lawyers initially sought an insanity defense but later dropped that approach and argued their client didn't fully grasp the ramifications of what he did, according to John Hall, the district attorney's spokesman.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS