“Red Bull” Defense Joins “Twinkie” Defense in Crime Annals

According to a news source, a prosecutor in Florida appears willing to accept
an insanity defense in the case of a man who murdered his father while
depressed, sleep-deprived and under the purported influence of an energy
drink. A psychiatrist reportedly testified during a bond reduction hearing
that defendant Stephen Coffeen, who allegedly smothered his father in
2009, suffered a “psychotic break” that was “accelerated by his use of Red
Bull.” The defendant’s brother, Thomas Coffeen, is apparently skeptical about
the defense, writing to the court, “since when is being tired, and high on an
energy drink, an excuse for cold blooded murder, anyway?” The court has
denied bond and set another hearing in the case for February 17, 2011. See St.
Petersburg Times, February 7, 2011.