INSANITY Flashcards
DEFINITION
D must be labouring under a defect of reason from a disease of the mind AND must either not know the nature and quality of the act he or she is doing OR not know what he or she is doing is wrong (M’Naughten)
In all cases every man is presumed to be sane
D HAS A DEFECT OF REASON
D’s powers or reasoning are impaired
If D is capable of reasoning but failed to do so then is not a defect of reason, absent-mindedness or confusion is not enough (Clarke)
THIS WAS CAUSED BY A DISEASE OF THE MIND
cause must be internal (Quick)
Sleep disorder causing sleepwalking (Burgess)
Diabetes- failing to take insulin (Hennessy)
Condition affecting bloody supply (Kemp)
Epilepsy (Sullivan)
D EITHER DOES NOT KNOW THE NATURE AND QUALITY OF HIS ACT OR DOES NOT KNOW IT WAS WRONG
D was in a s state of unconsciousness or is conscious but does not understand his act because of the mental condition
TWO WAYS WHICH A D MAY NOT KNOW NATURE AND QUALITY OF ACT (R v OYE)
(A) they are unconscious or have impaired consciousness
(B) conscious but due to mental state do not understand/ know what they are doing
- can only apply where D does know what they are doing is wrong (Windle)
- If D knows the nature and quality of his act I’d legally wrong, he cannot claim insanity, even if he is suffering a mental illness (Windle, Johnson)
