Insanity

Question 1

What is insanity?

Answer 1

A special defence to criminal offence, established under the M’Naughten rules, it must be proven that D is suffering from a defect of reason, which arises from a disease of the mind so D does not know the nature or quality of the act

Question 2

If insanity is successfully proven, what is the verdict?

Answer 2

Not guilty by reason of insanity

Question 3

What is meant by defect of reason?

Answer 3

• This means that the defendant’s powers of reasoning must be impaired If the defendant is capable of reasoning but has failed to use those powers, then
  this is not a defect of reason
• R v Clarke - defect of reason must be more than absent mindedness

Question 4

What is meant by a disease of the mind?

Answer 4

This is a legal term, not a medical one.
The disease can be a mental disease or a physical disease which affects the mind
Internal cause & need not be permanent
R v Kemp
R v Sullivan

Question 5

What is meant by not knowing the nature or quality of the act?

Answer 5

Can occur in 2 ways
D is unconscious or in a state of impaired consciousness
Or
D is conscious but due to her mental condition she does not understand what she is doing
R v Oye
R v Johnston