Insanity

Question 0

Sullivan (1984)

Answer 0

D kicked his neighbour to death, confirmed M’Naghten. D suffered from epilepsy, automatism brought on by epilepsy is a disease of the mind, it is caused by an internal factor.

Question 1

M’Naghten

Answer 1

Test for insanity - at the time of committing the offence D must have been labouring under such a defect of reason, from a disease of the mind, as to not know the nature and quality of the act, or if he did, that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.

Question 2

Clarke (1972)

Answer 2

Court held a defect of reason was the cessation of a relevant mental faculty for however brief a period of time.

Question 3

Kemp (1957)

Answer 3

Pleaded automatism, had a blackout due to arterial sclerosis, held that this could be a disease of the mind as well as a disease of the body because it could affect the mind.

Question 4

Quick (1973)

Answer 4

D became hypoglycaemic as a result of injecting insulin, the injection was an external factor so it could not be insanity.

Question 5

Henessy (1989)

Answer 5

D became hyperglycaemic due to not taking insulin, it was caused by diabetes which is an internal factor, so insanity could apply.

Question 6

Burgess (1991)

Answer 6

Sleepwalking is a disease of the mind caused by internal factors.

Question 7

Rabey (1980)

Answer 7

D was rejected by his girlfriend, he killed her, claimed he has been suffering from a dissociative state, held that it was an internal state caused by an external event, it could be insanity but only if a reasonable person might have reacted in the same way, in this case they wouldn’t have.

Question 8

T (1990)

Answer 8

T was raped, and then became dissociative and committed a serious crime, held that the rape was so traumatic that it could reasonably have caused the dissociative state, insanity could apply.