Evaluation of Diminished Responsibility

DIMINISHED Evaluation
RESPONSIBILITY…read more

STRENGTH ­ EXPANDS
MCNAUGHTON RULES
The McNaughton rules for Insanity are very specific and exclude many
people whos acts were committed because of an `abnormality of mental
functioning' but don't fit the criteria for Insanity ­ DR gives those people the
opportunity to get a fair sentence.…read more

STRENGTH - STIGMA
Pleading Diminished Responsibility doesn't carry the same stigma as
Insanity and therefore defendants who have an authentic right to use the
defence can do so without the social implications that the `insanity' label
attracts.…read more

BURDEN OF PROOF
One of the major problems with this law is that the burden of proof lies on the
defendant. The defendant has to prove that the nature of their abnormality is
genuine. This also breaches ART 6 (2) of the European convention on
human rights. Which states that you are innocent until proven guilty. In this
case, the defendant is assumed guilty until they can prove otherwise.…read more

MEDICAL EVIDENCE
In order to prove that the defendant is suffering from diminished
responsibility the defence has to supply medical evidence proving that the
medical condition is recognised.In that case its left for the jury to determine
the authenticity of the claim, which makes no sense as the jury doesn't have
sufficient medical knowledge to determine whether someone's medical
condition is `recognised'…read more

LACK OF EXPERTISE
There is also the problem of too much power being given to the jury and a
lack of expertise available to the jury leads to absurd decisions as the jury
have to make decisions without fully understanding the complex medical
information.…read more