If the Twinkie Causes Fits, You Must Acquit

By Melissa August, M.M. Buechner, Helen Gibson, Tam Gray, Daniel Levy, Michele Orecklin, Desa Philadelphia, Flora Tartakovsky and Josh Tyrangiel

Ally McBeal writers alert! Reality is stealing your material. Last week a Miami teen claimed an Internet addiction rendered him unaware of the consequences of a threatening e-mail he sent to a Columbine High student. Will it wash in court? It's unlikely, but not unprecedented.

Twinkie Defense, 1977 --Dan White, a San Francisco supervisor, claimed sugary foods--such as Hostess Twinkies--put him into a heightened emotional state when he killed Mayor George Moscone and fellow Supervisor Harvey Milk. Verdict: guilty, but on the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. Rioting ensues.

Prozac Defense I, 1991 --Kathy Willets said Prozac caused the nymphomania that made her prostitute herself. Sentence: 400 hours of community service after she pleaded guilty.

Prozac Defense II, 1996 --Edward J. Leary claimed that a cocktail of Prozac and other drugs drove him mad and made him firebomb two subway trains. Verdict: guilty. Sentence: 94 years in prison.

Sleepwalking Defense, 1999 --Scott Falater admitted stabbing his wife 44 times before drowning her in their swimming pool but said he was sleepwalking. Verdict: guilty. Sentence: life in prison.