Research the McNaughton rule. What was McNaughton and how did the McNaughton Rule come into being?
The name McNaughton came from the son of A Glasgow wood turner who was deluded that there was conspiracy against him when the catholic priests sent spies to harass him. It is from these encounters that the McNaughton Principle came into being. The rule in based on understanding what is right and wrong. It is a test of the two concepts, i.e. "knowing right and wrong by oneself in the course of their actions" (Asokan, 2007). The idea of uncontrollable impulses was not considered an important item. This rule was the standard test that was used by the jury after listening to a medical report. Thus, there was a presumption of sanity unless the defence proved otherwise. The US and the UK adopted the McNaughton Rule and still use it to handle cases to date in many states (The 'insanity defense' and diminished capacity, 2017).
What other tests of insanity exist? Define them
It has guidelines for sentencing defendants with a history of mental illness (The 'insanity defense' and diminished capacity, 2017).
Compare and Contrast these tests? Examine this in light of John Hinckley what happened here. Is one test "better" than the other? Why? What new laws came into being, after Hinckley?
John Hinckley tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington D.C Hotel in 1981. This drew a lot of attention as expected and notoriety perception towards John Hinckley. The villain was arrested at the scene of crime. He later claimed that he acted out of love for the then American president. According to the New York Times he stated that he was in love with Forster like Romeo and Juliet. He was later tried. He was acquitted because he was found to be insane. He was sent to a psychiatry facility for help (Biography.com Editors, 2017).
The McNaughton Rule was adopted in the US and UK and was applied to judge the standard of right and wrong for many years. In fact, the rule is used as a standard of insanity test in nearly half of the states in the USA. The Durham Rule on the other hand made use of scientific research to handle cases of insanity in court. It was a departure for legal formalisms of the McNaughton Rule. Scientific explanation was the basis for judgement. Controversies emerged and threw the Durham Rule into the back banner. The basis of the Durham Rule was that punishment is meant to deter criminal tendencies. If one cannot differentiate between right and wrong, applying the law rigidly as it is serves no purpose (Francone, 2016).
Which test does New York State use? Is this a successful defense - why or why not? Explain.
New York applies Model Penal Code Rule. The rule places the burden of proof on the defendant (The Insanity Defense Among the States, 2017). The rule gives the legislative authorities the freedom to choose between wrongfulness and criminality language options. Thus, the legislative bodies have the liberty to use more legalistic view of right and wrong. They may also apply a different standard in the form of morally inspired understanding of right and wrong. There are complications that arise…
This is the loophole that both side tried to exploit during both the initial trial and the re-trial. No one questions the claim that Yates was mentally ill, either before or during the events that took place. However, in the trial, the decision and weight of prosecution's case lied in the ideal that she had some semblance of knowledge that what she was about to do was wrong. Her mental
Andrea Yates In 2001, Andrea Kennedy Yates drowned her five children one at a time in her bathtub (Moisse, 2012). The first criminal trial lasted a total of only three weeks. Yates was convicted of capital murder, but was not given the death penalty. Instead, Yates was given life in prison with a chance for parole in 2041. However, in 2005, Yates' initial conviction was overturned in a Texas appellate court.
50). Court Case and Trials Confession of Andrea of drowning all of her five children came on the same day in the presence of her psychiatrist, Dr. Michael Welner. She confessed of locking her family dog so that it could not interfere with the killings or drowning. The defense lawyer asserted that Andrea was insane while Texas law required that a proof must be given that at the time of crime, the
ELECTROSHOCK vs. ADEPRESSANTS Electroshock vs. Antidepressants Use of Electroshock Therapy vs. Antidepressants for Postpartum Psychosis Literature on postpartum psychiatric diagnosis leans heavily toward trying to understand postpartum depression, but talks little of postpartum psychosis. The reason for this seems to be that the depression diagnosis is much more prevalent than psychosis. However, there have been enough reports of postpartum psychosis that it has become more of a known diagnosis. Most coverage of psychosis
The popular media's negative coverage of the insanity defense in contested cases when a defendant claims not to have the rational capacity to commit a crime or has a diminished capacity to conceptualize a criminal intent has caused the public to dismiss forensic psychiatry as providing rationalizations or excuses for bad behavior, rather than possessing a real scientific method. The use of the insanity defense is clearly subject to
All arguments against the death penalty appear doubly applicable to women so convicted; those already victimized by their circumstances and relationships are further victimized by a justice system that is supposed to help them, while the guilty are allowed to continue with their crimes, freed by the skill of high-priced lawyers. According to Dreyfuss (2003), women convicted of murder specifically face issues such as prosecutors who ignore mitigating circumstances, self-defence,