Judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces heard arguments on Tuesday for the defense of former Army paratrooper George D.B. MacDonald, who is convicted of murdering fellow soldier Rick Bulmer while he slept. MacDonald had argued in his 2008 trial that he had been under the influence of Chantix, an anti-smoking drug that the military now prohibits among deployed troops because of the potential for neuropsychiatric effects, but the judge had refused the to instruct the jury about the “involuntary intoxication” defense. “It certainly was error not to give the instruction,” commented appeals court judge Scott W. sticky. “You have a unique defense here, which is not based on junk science.”
Military court hears convicted killer’s anti-smoking drug defense
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