Law 2101 Study Guide - Quiz Guide: Pyromania, Kleptomania, Pedophilia
Document Summary
Insanity is a defense that exculpates the defendant who, due to mental disorder did not have the capacities at the time of committing the offence to be held responsible in law. Rationale: it guarantees that those that cannot be held responsible for their actions are not punishable. Criminal law cannot communicate to those who does not understand the norm: the insanity defense ensures that the public is protected against the defendants. In almost all legal systems, the insane defendant can be compulsorily admitted to and/or treated in a mental hospital. To be labelled insane, the defendant must have suffered from a mental disorder. In england, the definition of this is: any disorder of disability of the mind (mental. The common law defense of insanity refers to a (cid:498)disease of the mind(cid:499). 39 dcc refers to two manifestations of mental abnormality: pathological disorder, occurred later in life, arrested development of the mental faculties.
