Insanity Flashcards
What is defined by M’Naughten?
D must have a ‘defect of reason, which must be result of the disease of the mind, causing D to not know the nature/ quality of their act or not knowing it was wrong.
What must the D prove?
That they did not have the MR for the crime.
If the defence is successful what will happen to the D?
Can receive an indefinite hospital order, supervision, or discharge.
What does a defect of reason mean?
The D’s power of reasoning must be substantially impaired.
What did R v Kemp state?
more than just absent mindedness or confusion.
What is disease of the mind?
Legal not medical term, internal factor including hardening of the artery (R v Kemp), epilepsy (R v Sullivan) and diabetes.
What does unable to understand the nature or quality of the act mean?
The physical character of the act they cannot understand.
-in a state of unconsciousness or impaired consciousness
or conscious but due to their mental condition they did not understand/ know what they were doing (Johnson).
