Insanity Flashcards
(7 cards)
What act does insanity come under ?
It comes under the M’Naghten Rules 1843 - states that the defendant was suffering from a defect of reason from a disease of the mind and doesn’t not know the true nature or quality of their action or does not know it is legally wrong.
What is the first element of Insanity?
Defect of reason:
Defendants powers of reasoning were defective
Total inability to reason
Complete lack of awareness
R v Clarke - Needs to be more than absent mindfulness and confusion
What is the second element of Insanity?
Disease of the mind:
Defect of Reason must be caused by a disease of the mind.
Disease can be mental or physical
R v Kemp - affected his memory, reasoning and understanding
Cases for certain situations for insanity
Epilepsy- R v Sullivan
Diabetes - R v Hennessy
Sleepwalking - R v Burgess
Voluntary Intox - AG for NI v Gallagher
What is the third element of insanity?
Not knowing the nature and quality of the act:
Must have impaired consciousness or unconscious
Or due to their mental condition they do not understand what they are doing
R v Oye
What is the fourth element of insanity?
D must not know that he was legally wrong:
If D knows the nature and quality of the act is legally wrong, they cannot use insanity as a defence.
R v Windle
What is the verdict for successfully getting the defence for insanity?
Not guilty by reason of insanity
