INSANITY (defence)

INSANITY: general defence to any crime (where MR is required)

Successfully using insanity as a defence results in a special verdict: not guilty by reason of insanity, those who use this defence normally get hospitalised

M'Naghten: the court starts by saying D is sane... so guilty, D must rebut this presumption on a balance of probabilties 

• Defect of reason, coming from a 
• Disease of the mind, so that the D either
• Doesn't know the nature and quality of his act, OR that the D...
• Doesn't know what he is doing is wrong 

1) DEFECT OF REASON: (symptom of illness)

Clarke; defined it as ' deprived of the power of reasoning, those who are abesent minded will NOT be suffering from a…