Defending insanity is also complicated because of the underlying differences in philosophy between psychiatrists/psychologists and lawyers. [60] In the United States, a psychiatrist, psychologist or other psychiatrist is often consulted as an expert witness in cases of mental illness, but the final legal verdict on the defendant`s mental health is determined by a jury, not a psychiatrist. In other words, psychiatrists give professional testimony and opinions, but are ultimately not responsible for answering legal questions. [60] In several cases, it has been decided that persons found not guilty of mental illness cannot withdraw their defence in a habeas application to seek an alternative, although there have been exceptions in other judgments. [ref. needed] In Colorado v. Connelly, 700 A.2d 694 (Conn. App. Ct.
1997), the complainant, who had initially been found not guilty of mental illness and had been under the jurisdiction of a psychiatric security review board for ten years, filed a writ of habeas corpus and the court quashed his acquittal on the grounds of mental illness. He was retried and convicted of the original charge and sentenced to 40 years in prison. [21] After the perpetrator of President Reagan`s assassination was found not guilty of mental illness, Congress passed the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984. Under this legislation, the burden of proof was shifted from the prosecution to the defence, and the standard of proof in federal trials was raised from a preponderance of evidence to clear and convincing evidence. The ALI test was dropped in favor of a new test similar to M`Naghten`s. Under this new test, only perpetrators who were suffering from a serious mental illness at the time of the crime could successfully apply the defence against mental illness. The accused`s ability to control himself was no longer a role. In Norway, perpetrators of psychotics are convicted but not punished and sentenced to coercive treatment instead of prison. Article 44 of the Criminal Code expressly provides that « a person who was mentally ill or unconscious at the time of the crime shall not be punished ». [42] It is the responsibility of a criminal court to consider whether the accused was psychotic or suffered from other serious psychological disabilities when he or she committed a crime.
Although he himself stated that he was in good mental health, the court hearing the Anders Behring Breivik case considered the issue of his mental health. As an alternative to the mental illness defence, some jurisdictions allow a defendant to plead guilty but have a mental illness. [50] A defendant convicted but suffering from a mental illness may be sentenced to psychiatric treatment, at the end of which he or she serves the remainder of his or her sentence in the same manner as any other defendant. [48] In federal courts and in Arizona, the onus is placed on the defendant to prove his insanity with clear and convincing evidence. [56] See 18 U.S.C.S. Sec. 17(b); see also A.R.S. §§ 13-502 (C). In the United States, a trial in which the defence of mental illness is invoked usually involves the testimony of psychiatrists or psychologists acting as experts on the mental state of the accused at the time of the offence. The concept of defense through madness has existed since ancient Greece and Rome. However, in colonial America, a delusional Dorothy Talbye was hanged in 1638 for the murder of her daughter, because at the time, Massachusetts common law made no distinction between insanity (or mental illness) and criminal behavior. [10] Edward II stated under English common law that a person was mentally ill if his mental capacities were nothing more than those of a « wild animal » (in the sense of a dumb rather than frenetic animal).
The first complete copy of a mad trial dates back to 1724. It is likely that the mentally ill, such as those under the age of 14, escaped trial through torture. When the jury trial replaced this, the jury was supposed to find the mentally ill person guilty, but then sent the case back to the king for royal pardon. By 1500, juries could acquit the mentally ill, and imprisonment required a separate civil trial. [11] The Criminal Lunatics Act of 1800, passed retroactively after the acquittal of James Hadfield, ordered imprisonment at the discretion of the regent (indefinitely), even for those who were mentally ill at the time of the crime but were now in good mental health. Although the use of the defence of insanity is rare, since the Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Incapacity to Plead) Act 1991,[44] there has been a steady increase in mental illness in the United Kingdom. [45] The meaning of the word « false » was given in R. v. Chaulk, 1990] 3 S.C.R., who stated that the term « wrong » is NOT limited to « legally reprehensible » but also to « morally wrong ». Some jurisdictions require that the assessment take into account the defendant`s ability to control his or her conduct at the time of the offence (the voluntary member).
A defendant asserting that the defense pleads « not guilty to mental illness » (NGRI) or « guilty but mentally ill or mentally ill » in some jurisdictions, which, if successful, may result in the defendant being committed to a mental health facility indefinitely. The M`Naghten Rules of 1843 were not a codification or definition of insanity, but the answers of a panel of judges to hypothetical questions posed by Parliament after the acquittal of Daniel M`Naghten for the murder of Edward Drummond, whom he confused with British Prime Minister Robert Peel. The rules define the defence as follows: « At the time of committing the act, the accused was working with such a lack of reason, mental illness, that she did not know the manner and quality of the act she was doing, or did not know that what she was doing was wrong. » [12] The bottom line is that the accused was unable to assess the nature of his actions at the time of the commission of the crime. The law also limited the scope of psychiatric expert testimony and introduced stricter procedures for hospitalization and release of those found not guilty of mental illness. Therefore, a person whose mental disorder is not challenged is considered mentally sound if the court decides that the defendant was responsible for the acts committed despite a « mental illness » and is treated in court as a normal defendant. If the person has a mental illness and it is determined that the mental illness has impaired their ability to distinguish right from wrong (and other related criteria that an jurisdiction may have) and the person is willing to plead guilty or is convicted in court, some jurisdictions have another option, which is known as Guilty but Mental Ill (GBMI) or Guilty but Insane judgment. The GBMI decision is available as an alternative to a « not guilty of mental illness » verdict. [17] Michigan (1975) was the first state to issue a GBMI decision after the release of two prisoners, after NGRI committed violent crimes within a year of their release, one raping two women and the other killing his wife.
[18] Non compos mentis (Latin) is a legal term meaning « no common sense. » [7] Non compos mentis is derived from the Latin not for « not », compos for « to have commandment » or « to put together » and mentis (genitive singular of mens), meaning « of the spirit ». This is the direct opposite of compos mentis (a healthy mind). According to article 20 of the Criminal Code, anyone who commits an unlawful act because he is unable to recognize the injustice of the act or to act in accordance with it because of a mental disorder is not guilty. In Victoria, the current defence of mental disability was introduced in the Crimes (Mental Disability and Incapacity to Trial) Act 1997, which replaced the defence of insanity and indefinite detention at the discretion of the Governor with the following: The Court of Appeal upheld the lower court`s decision: « Having chosen to be part of this `extraordinary class` of people, who are seeking convictions not guilty of mental illness. We cannot hear him now complaining about the legal consequences of his election. The court ruled that no direct attack on the final acquittal on the grounds of mental illness was possible.