General Defences

General Defences

Insanity

1. Suffering from disease of the mind as below:

-Diabetes (hyperglycaemic)- Hennessey (1989)- stole car

-Arteriosclerosis (hardening of arteries)- Kemp (1957)- attacked wife with hammer

-Epilepsy (seizure)- Sullivan (1984)-punched and kicked victim

-Somnambulism (sleepwalking)- Burgess (1991)-attacked gf with bottle and video recorder

2. Disease must have caused defect of reason (Clarke, 1972 was mere absent mindedness)

3. Did not know nature of act/did not know it was wrong

-Murder-= ‘special verdict’ of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’- secure hospital

Self-defence

-Force must be reasonable and proportionate

-Protect self,…