Defences - Insanity
- Created by: georgia.wise5
- Created on: 17-09-19 11:51
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- Defences - INSANITY
- Three Rules Based on M'Naghten
- Defect of Reason
- Which is the result of the disease of the mind
- Which caused the defendant not to know the nature or quality of their act or what they were doing was wrong
- Not Knowing the Nature and Quality of the Act
- Two ways this can apply:
- Whether they are conscious but due to their mental condition they don't understand or know what they are doing
- Because they are in a state of unconsciousness or impaired consciousness
- R v Oye
- D not knowing the nature and quality of their act
- R v Windle
- If the D knows the nature and quality of the act is criminally wrong then they can't use the defence of insanity
- R v Johnson
- If the D knows the nature and quality of the act is criminally wrong then they can't use the defence of insanity
- The view of the Australlian court is that if a D believed their act to be right according to the ordinary standard of a reasonable person, they are entitled to be aquitted even if they knew it was legally wrong
- Two ways this can apply:
- Disease of the mind
- That is a legal term not medical one
- R v Kemp
- Can be physical Disease which affects the mind
- R Sullivan
- Epilepsy comes within the rules of insanity
- R Hennessy
- High blood sugar levels because of diabetes classed as insanity as it affected the mind
- R v Burgess
- Sleep walking is within the definition of insanity
- EXTERNAL FACTORS
- R v Quick
- Automatism applied instead - where D doesnt know what they're doing because of external cause
- R v Quick
- Defect of reason
- Meaning the D's powers of reasoning were impaired
- R v Clarke (1972)
- The defect of the reason must be more than absent mindedness
- The Special Verdict
- When a D proves insanity the jury must return a verdict of NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY
- The judge can impose a punishment of:
- A supervision order
- A Hospital Order
- Untitled
- Burden of Proof is on the D on Balance of probablity
- Three Rules Based on M'Naghten
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