Defense of insanity
As a defense of insanity (engl., Plea of spiritual and mental disorder ') is referred to in Criminal Law of England and Wales , a defense (defense plea). The defendant pleads that he succumbed to a mental and emotional disorder at the time of the act. The prerequisites for this are based on M'Naghten's case [1843] UKHL J16. According to the M'Naghten rules :
“And that to establish a defense on the ground of insanity, it must be clearly proved that at the time of commiting the act the party accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or as not to know that what he was doing was wrong. "
“In order for the objection of insanity to have a defensive effect, it must be clearly proven that the accused suffered from such a disorder of the mind, from such a mental disorder, at the time of the accused, that he was unable to recognize the nature and nature of the act performed or its injustice . "
The defense must be proven with sufficient probability by the accused. If the court accepts it, it leads to a "not guilty by reason of insanity" ("innocent because of insanity"). For a long time, the inevitable consequence of this was admission to psychiatry. Since it is still considered to be socially stigmatizing today, insanity is extremely rarely advocated.
literature
- Volker Helmert: The definition of a criminal offense in Europe . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2011, B. The definition of criminal offenses in England, p. 123-124 .
- Nicola Padfield: Criminal law . 7th edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-958204-4 , 4. Incapacitating conditions — Insanity.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Volker Helmert: The concept of criminal offenses in Europe . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2011, p. 120-122 .
