Criminal responsibility in insanity, with special reference to epilepsy / by T. Duncan Greenlees.

  • Greenlees, T. Duncan.
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Criminal responsibility in insanity, with special reference to epilepsy / by T. Duncan Greenlees. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    (2) . That in civilised countries the legal responsibility of the insane is a subject that has been thoroughly discussed in the law Courts, and it is generally understood that insanity, whatever its nature, renders a person irresponsible for his acts in the eye of the law. (3) . That this happy condition of affairs is the result of the well-directed energy of many experts in psychological medicine, who have had to combat, not only the prejudices of an ignorant public, but likewise of the medical profession at large, whose knowledge of insanity must necessarily be of so superficial a nature as not to entitle them to any opioion of greater value than that of a layman. (4) . That within recent years the law Courts in other countries have been convinced of the fact that epilepsy is inseparable from insanity, and, so far as criminal responsibility is concerned, is a plea that, when advanced, meets with the Court’s favourable con¬ sideration. (5) . That in this Colony the Courts have yet to be educated to recognise the nature of such cases, and that this can only be done by the united efforts of the medical practitioners in the Colony. (6) . That to attain this, Parliament be approached by the medical societies of the Colony with the view of introducing a clause in the penal statutes worded somewhat as follows: “ If a person who commits a crime is, at the time of the com¬ mittal of the crime, unable, by reason of some disease or defect, to distinguish the nature of the crime, or to discriminate between right and wrong as applied to the act; or if he is able to do so, and knows he is committing a crime, yet, by reason of the aforesaid disease or defect, his will-power is so enfeebled that he is unable to exercise a control over his acts at the time the crime is committed, then that person is not guilty by reason of his insanity, and shall not be punished for the same.”(6) i6) It is to be noted that I do not speak of “disease of the brain,” for in fevers and other diseases, not necessarily of the brain, symptoms may arise so as to make the person irresponsible for his acts.
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