NEW YORK CITY: Lawyer For Killer Of Mark Carson To Present Insanity Defense

The lawyer for Elliot Morales, the man who murdered Mark Carson on a West Village street corner in May, said yesterday that he intends to present an insanity defense.

Court-appointed defense lawyer Kevin Canfield served notice that he intends to present psychiatric evidence at trial. "It could be temporary insanity," Canfield told reporters, declining to describe Morales' reported mental state at the time of the alleged crime. It was not immediately known whether Morales had any known mental health problems prior to the killing. Morales, 33, did not speak during the brief court appearance but appeared somber, sporting a shaved head, gray shirt and tie and wire-rimmed glasses. He was indicted in May on charges of murder as a hate crime, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing. Morales is due back in court Sept. 13 and is being held on Rikers Island without bail.

At the time of his arrest, police and prosecutors say that Morales repeatedly boasted about the murder.