1 The insanity defense and philosophy More has been written on the insanity defense than on any other single topic in criminal law,1 and yet statistically the plea of insanity is fairly rare, being considerably less common as a courtroom phenomenon than most laymen might expect.2 A reason for this apparent antinomy is that the insanity defense raises assumptions and issues that are at the very ...

It lias scarcely been a matter of doubt that the Evangelists have recorded several cases of insanity. The best defined are those of the demoniac of Gadara, evidently an example of mania; and the bov brought to our Lord after the transfiguration, whose symptoms closely resemble those of epilepsy. These cases will not fail to bring to the minds of those conversant with the wards of a lunatic asyl...

The authors address the main questions in the insanity defense debate: Should it be abolished? Should psychiatrists participate as expert witnesses? Is the profession damaged by such testimony? Is there a logical leap between providing psychiatric findings and providing an opinion to the ultimate question? Because the free will/determinism model underlying the current insanity defense positions...

An important topic related to the insanity defense is what jurors should be told about the disposition of a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). In the federal court system, jurors are not instructed about the consequences of an NGRI verdict. State courts, however, are divided on the question. The federal precedent, Shannon v. United States, and the most recent state case to...

The purport of this lecture is the Medical Treatment of Insanity. It may be surmised that I have selected this subject with the view of submitting for your consideration, and through you to the profession, the particulars of a mode of treating the diversified morbid affections of the mind, original in its conception, invariably successful in its results, and based upon my own peculiar views as ...

What factors should be taken into account when attributing criminal responsibility to perpetrators of severe crimes? We discuss the Breivik case, and the considerations which led to holding Breivik accountable for his criminal acts. We put some pressure on the view that experiencing certain psychiatric symptoms or receiving a certain psychiatric diagnosis is sufficient to establish criminal ins...