CHAP 8 (Fitness / Mental Illness) Flashcards
Mental illness in the past
Old times: Treated as any behaviour that seemed weird, trepeding (drilling holes in head), other weird solutions, believed in spirits
Hippocrates (4th Century): didn’t believe this and took a biological approach, natural causes, not evil spirits
- Invented humors (blood, black bile, yellow bile, phlegm)
- Believed as long as these humors were in balance, you were normal, if something was out of whack, you would act erratic
One of the first ever Naturalistic perspectives!!
By the Middle Ages (reversion)
- Church grew in power, didn’t believe this whatsoever
- Reinforced idea of evil spirits or demons
- Creates a guidebook (the malleus maleficarum), guide on exorcising spirits, etc
In the book they were taught to look for signs of possession (cuts, bruises, marks, etc, birthmark, ANYTHING)
Post middle ages:
Mental institutions / hospitals started to be created over lots of time
Saint Marys of Bethlehem (known as bedlam)
One of the first mental institutions ever created
Held criminals, poor people, mentally ill individuals, etc
What is considered abnormal today
- Distressing to the individual
- Dysfunctional for the individual and society
- Is it considered culturally or statistically **deviant **
Three D’s Approach!!!
guidebook: guide on exorcising spirits, etc
(the malleus maleficarum)
-In the book they were taught to look for signs of possession (cuts, bruises, marks, etc, birthmark, ANYTHING)
John E Du Pont
Inherited tons of wealth
Lived on an estate and killed olympic athlete
Argued insanity but it was sceptical, went for treatment, returned as was still found ill and guilty
- Tunnel systems, weird shit
To establish guilt in a crime _____________________
Must be found beyond a reasonable doubt for a guilty verdict to be
reached
Actus Rea - done something wrong
Mens Rea - have intended to do it (Criminal Intent)
Must be found beyond a reasonable doubt for a guilty verdict to be
reached
From a legal perspective insanity is established based on _________________
the moment the crime has occurred (not whether or not you were like this your entire life)
What does it mean to be competent?
“Defendant’s ability to function meaningfully and knowingly in a legal proceeding”
- Competency is regarding your state when you go Trial and Court
- If seriously deficient in one or more abilities
Understanding the legal proceedings
Communicating with their attorneys
Appreciating their role in the proceedings
Making legally relevant decisions
- “Can they today defend themselves in court”
What is the difference between insanity and competence?
Tend to come at different places in the justice time-line
Insane (NCRMD) - at time of crime
Competent - at time of trial and court
R. v. Prichard (1836)
Key case for the fitness standard
Three issues were identified:
1. Whether the defendant is mute of malice (i.e., intentionality)
2. Whether the defendant can plead to the indictment
3. Whether the defendant has sufficient cognitive capacity to
understand proceedings
- Guy doing beastiality
Refers to an inability to
conduct a defence at any stage
of the proceedings on account
of a person’s mental disorder
Unfit to stand trial
____________________ changed / specified the circumstances of how courts in Canada deal with mental disorders and determine their ability to stand trial, or to provide evidence to the state at the time of the offence
Bill C-30
________ in the Canadian Criminal Code stated a fitness standard; unfit to stand trial if unable to:
Understand nature or object of proceedings
understand possible consequences of the proceedings
Communicate with counsel
- ALSO INTRODUCED CAPPING
Bill C-30
Stay proceedings if:
Accused is unlikely to ever become fit
Accused does not pose a significant threat to safety of the public
It is in the interests of the proper administration of justice
Bill C-10
When deliberating or found guilty, mentally ill individuals _________________________________
can be assigned to time in mental illness institutions for support instead of prison
Andrea Yates Case
Postpartum depression case
- killed 5 kids in psychosis
- Found NCRMD
NCRMD stands for
Not Criminally Responsible On Account Of Mental Disorder
Susan Smith Case (Canada)
Drove kids into lake or cliff in car
- Pretended someone had kidnapped them and gone somewhere
- Tried to plead insane or NCRMD, and failed
- Found guilty
Insanity
How can we decide if a person was insane at the time of a crime?
Based on M’Naghten (1843) rules
M’Naghten (1843) rules
Tell us to watch for:
◦ Decision maker must determine accused had “defect of reason”
◦ Person can’t know of nature/quality of act.
◦ Inquiry to determine if person knew right from wrong
Automatism
unconscious, involuntary behaviour; the person
committing the act is not aware of what they are doing
Examples of Automatism
Sexomnia, Sleepwalking
The large majority of automatism defences in cases _____________, and _______________
ARE NOT A VIABLE DEFENCE
- and usually are treated in a different regard than Insanity
Differences Between NCRMD and Automatism?
Verdict outcome differs based on context
How many Insanity pleas work?
Attempted in 9 in 1000 cases
Of 9 cases, roughly two are actually accepted
- 0.25% (1 in 400) of all criminal cases it suceeds
Intoxication as a Defence?
In 1995, Bill-C-72 was passed
**“an Act to amend the Criminal Code of Canada regarding self-induced intoxication. It allows the defense of extreme intoxication, which can be used to acquit a person of a crime if they were in a state of automatism at the time of the offense
Accused must:
1. Establish that they were in a state of extreme intoxication
2. Support this assertion with expert evidence
The defense is rare and only applies to non-violent offenses. The prosecution can use the same evidence to argue that the accused’s loss of control and violence were foreseeable. **
Assessment instruments - Fitness
FIT-R (Roesch, Webster & Eaves, 1994)
CST (Competence Screening Test)
CAI (Competence Assessment Instrument)
Assessment Instruments - Responsibility
Mental State at Time of the Offense Screening Evaluation (MSE)
Rogers Criminal Responsibility Assessment Scales (R-CRAS)
The defendant is released
into the community without
restrictions to their behaviour
Absolute discharge
A defendant is released;
however, release carries certain
conditions (e.g., not to possess
firearms) that the defendant
must meet. Failure to meet
the conditions imposed with
a conditional discharge may
result in the defendant being
incarcerated or sent to a
psychiatric facility
Conditional discharge
Notion introduced through
Bill C-30 where there is a
maximum period of time a
person with a mental illness
could be affected by their
disposition
Capping
