Insanity and Automatism Flashcards
What act does Insanity come from?
Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Unfitness to Plead) Act 1991
What is the sentence if the act is murder but ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’?
Hospital order
What are the potential sentences for anything other than murder?
- Hospital order
- Guardianship order
- Supervision and treatment order
- Absolute discharge
Under what act does it state that the question of fitness to plead is to be left to the judge alone?
Domestic Violence and Victims Act 2004
What case laid down the 3 points of insanity?
M’naghten
What are the 3 points from M’naghten?
- Defect of reason
- Disease of the mind
- He did not know the nature/quality of the act and he did not know that what he was doing was wrong in law
What is a defect of reason?
Being deprived of the power to reason, rather than just failing to use it
What is the case for defect of reason?
R vs Clarke
What is the POL from R vs Clarke?
She retained her ordinary powers of reason but momentarily acted as she didn’t by failing to concentrate properly = no defect of reason and no insanity
What is the POL from R vs Sullivan (Defect of Reason)?
Doesn’t matter if the defect of reason was temporary or permanent - like when someone is having an epileptic fit
What case states that it doesn’t matter if the defect of reason was temporary or permanent - like when someone is having an epileptic fit?
R vs Sullivan
What type of definition is the disease of the mind?
Legal definition and not a medical one
What is the POL from R vs Kemp?
The cause of the disease of the mind has to be internal (arteriosclerosis)
What is the POL from R vs Sullivan (Disease of the mind)?
Epilepsy is a disease of the mind as mental faculties could be impaired to cause a defect of reason during a fit
What is the POL from R vs Burgess?
Sleepwalking is a disease of the mind as it is an internal cause of a defect of reason
What is the POL from R vs Quick?
He took insulin to help with his diabetes but as insulin was taken, it was held that the cause was external
What is the POL from R vs Hennessey?
Unlike Quick, he didn’t take his normal dose of insulin so the cause was internal
What is the POL from R vs Coley, McGhee and Harris under the disease of the mind?
The cause was the smoking of cannabis and not D’s physiological make-up so was a case of voluntary intoxication not insanity
What is the POL from R vs Coley, McGhee and Harris under the nature/quality of the act?
He knew what he was doing as he removed important documents before starting the fire
What is the POL from R vs Johnson?
He knew it was legally wrong but thought he had a moral right to kill the victim so there was no insanity as he knew what he was doing was wrong in some manner
What is the POL from R vs Keal?
He knew it was wrong but he thought he had no choice but to commit the crimes, so he knew what he was doing was wrong in some way
What is the main case that lays out automatism?
Bratty vs A-G of Northern Ireland
What is Lord Denning’s quote from Bratty vs A-G of Northern Ireland
Automatism means an act which is done by the muscles without any control by the mind such as a spasm, a reflex action or a convulsion; or an act done by a person who is not conscious of what he is doing such as an act done whilst suffering from concussion or whilst sleepwalking
What are some examples of an external cause due to Lord Denning’s quote?
Severe blows to the head, hypnotism, anesthetic, swarm of bees
