Insanity

Fitness to plead

be able to follow evidence

if not fit, trial postponed until you are fit

need to be able to instruct your defence for serious crimes

approaches

Compassion - no point in locking up person who is not morally blameworthy

Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006

not guilty for reason of insanity

need to prove you committed the act

consultant psychiatrist required to establish suffering from mental disorder at time and didn't know nature or quality of act

intoxication is not insantiy

Defence of insanity

you bear burden of proof

balance of probability

current test - jury finds person committed act and heard evidence by psychiatrist - did not comprehend nature of the act

mental processes has to be outside scope for normal people

test at common law

Doyle v Wicklow youth set fire to abbatoir to stop humans eating animals - irresistible impulse can be a defence

M'Naghten - is accused prevented by disease of the mind from knowing nature and quality of act is wrong

nature and quality of act

R v Dickie - accused was a depressed psychotic, understood he was setting fire to basket, didn't realise it would start fires in other places - insanity left to the jury and was convicted

O didn't understand concept of killing her children, had mental illness, didn't understand they were death

Knowledge act is wrong

R v windle - gave suicidal wife 100 asperin, believed right thing to do, knew against law - no insanity question as knew wwhat he was doing was wrong

click to edit

Stapleton did accused know conduct wrong according to standards adopted by reasonable man

irresistible impulse

Attorney General v Brown irresistable a factor, not enough to be sole factor for insanity

DPP v Courtney - must be actually irresistible, not just diminished self-control or weakened rsistance

diminished responsibility

halfway defence not insane, but substantially impaired

defendant has to prove defence - constitution challenge failed

duration of detention

2006 - reviewed by doctors which is reviewed by independent tribunal who can order the release