This new reformulation of the insanity defense, a kind of a fusion of the earlier M'Naghten and Durham tests, was intended to be a less constrictive version of the right-wrong and irresistible impulse tests. Today, "most states in the union allow this 'right-wrong' test and some states also allow defendants to argue that that they understood their behavior was criminal but were unable to control it. This is sometimes

Substance Induced Insanity Psychosis is a psychiatric state that can either be enduring or temporary. A person suffering from the condition may experience memory lapses, incoherent speech or thoughts, lack of concentration, delusions and/or hallucinations. Other symptoms that may manifest when one is suffering from psychosis include changes in personality and exhibition of unusual behaviors. It has been established that psychosis can be caused by various substances such as marijuana, methamphetamine

Competency to Stand Trial DRAWING THE LINE At any point in criminal proceedings that a defendant shows signs of mental illness, his competence to proceed to stand trial may be questioned (Winick, 2002). The issue may be brought up when he pleads guilty, waives certain constitutional rights, at sentencing hearing or when administering punishment, including capital punishment. Either the defense or prosecution or the court itself may raise the issue, even if

Abnormality: A Legal Concept One of the earliest explanations of mental illnesses and abnormality, dating as far back to the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was possession by evil spirits and acts of devil himself. Even in modern times, it is difficult to define abnormality as it can take many different forms and involve various different features. Abnormality can be defined in a number of ways. Considered as a deviation from the

Criminal Law and Psychopathy I. Introduction Various studies have in the past indicated that there is a high correlation between violence/criminal behavior and psychopathy. This would largely be expected given that psychological studies into the character and disposition of psychopaths has demonstrated that the need for control (or power) as well as egocentrism, which also happen to be the dominant character traits of psychopaths, are predictors for deviant or antisocial behavior. The

While there are some differences according to jurisdiction, in general, if the defense is allowed by the judge to go to the jury. The term illness of the mind is solely a legal notion. In the case of Bratty v. Attorney-General (Northern Ireland) (1963), Lord Denning declared that the foremost mental illnesses, which the doctors identify as psychoses, like schizophrenia, are plainly illnesses of the mind. Whether or not drug-associated