Defences- Insanity Flashcards
What type of defence is insanity
General defence- for all offences
Not complete- successful use leads to special verdict (not guilty by reason of insanity)
Whats the sentencing of insanity
Can range from complete discharge to unlimited hospital order
Whats the leading case for insanity
M’Naghten
What are the 3 elements of insanity
- d suffering from defect of reason
- must be caused by disease of mind
- caused d to not have known nature/quality of act/what he was doing was wrong
What case speaks about defect of reason and what was said
Bratty- a defect must affect cognitive/intellectual faculties of memory/reason/understanding
What case speaks about absentmindedness as a defect of reason
Clarke- moment of absentmindedness doesn’t amount to insanity
What does the case of kemp say
Hardening of arteries=disease of mind if memory/understanding affected, the condition of the brain is irrelevant
What case says that epilepsy is a disease of the mind
Sullivan- the source of the disease is irrelevant, it can be organic or functional, not matter if the disease isn’t permanent
What does the case of R v hennassay say
A diabetic condition can be a disease of the mind
What case contradicts what’s said in R v hennassay (diabetic condition)
Quick- wasn’t a disease of mind in the case as was caused by external factor (insulin and no food)
What case is used for the 3rd element of insanity
Windle
What does the case of windle say
Says that ‘not knowing what he was doing’ means not knowing what he was doing was legally wrong opposed to morally (knowing its illegal=no defence)
