英语论文网

ot guilty by reason of insanity’ under the trial of Lunatics Act 1883. Surely it would not have been a difficult task for parliament to have repealed the act and modernised the law, rather than merely amending it in 1991.

stigma

On the other hand it could be argued that the definition insanity carries a social stigma. For murder charges D’s would be more likely to use the defence of DR. So therefore it is inappropriate to use it in relation to people who are suffering from mental disorders but it is completely unsuitable to apply insanity to those suffering from diseases such as epilepsy or diabetes. There have been situations where defendants have pleaded guilty when they are innocent to avoid being labelled as insane due to the stigma attached Clarke.

diabetics

Another limiting factor to the insanity defence is that the “disease of the mind” must arise from an internal factor. In Quick, D committed an assault in a state of hypoglycaemia caused by the insulin he had taken, and the alcohol he had consumed and not eating. The Court of Appeal held that the defence of insanity was not available because the condition was caused by an external factor, it was not caused by “disease of the mind”.  However, a distinction was drawn in Hennessy, where it was held that the condition was a symptom of diabetes, D failed to take his insulin and therefore the defence of insanity was available. However, this distinction seems flawed as it is an attempt to distinguish between conditions caused by a disease of the mind which may recur and pose a threat to the public.

Judges unhappy – development of insanity

The judges themselves are not satisfied with the development. In Quick Lawton LJ stated ‘common sense is affronted by the prospect of a diabetic being sent to such a hospital when in most cases the disordered mental condition can be rectified quickly by pushing a lump of sugar... into the patients mouth’. It is considered that too much sugar in the blood can be rectified quickly. Lord Lane in Burgess, Lord Diplock in Sullivan and both the trial judge had urged parliament to look into this matter, to give the judges further guidance.

Despite the policy reason for these decisions to protect the public interest from conditions resulting in a propensity to violent behaviour , there are many serious mental disorders that may not result in violence, yet would medically be considered to suffer from a disease of the mind. it seems absurd and unfair to label epileptics as dangerous compared with those suffering from psychosis for example.

Insanity treatment issues

This also highlights flaws in the legal defence of insanity and the criminal justice system, in failing to provide adequate social services necessary to deal effectively with mentally disordered offenders. Home Office Statistics demonstrate an increase in the number of offenders on early release from custody, along with an increase in the number of offenders subject to hospital orders under the Mental Health Act 1983 (“the Act”). If mentally disordered offenders are slipping the net and not receiving necessary treatment and care due to not satisfying the legal test of insanity, this clearly seems to be contrary to the public interest, which is the fundamental basis of the courts’ reasoning when determining insanity pleas.

Rule is narrow

本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。