In Ireland, proposals to reform the criminal law relating to mental illness have been debated for decades. Factors that arguably accounted for the delay in reform included Ireland's traditionally low crime and prison rates and the lack of public concern and political motivation about crime until the 1960s.1
The Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 sought to address this issue. However, it did little to address the substantive problems of Ireland's mental illness law, instead focusing mainly on the procedural aspects. The main substantive change was the introduction of the reduced liability defense.
Despite the suggestions of some jurists2that the insanity defense should be abolished due to the absencereal men, or at least should be abolished as a separate defense,3It could be argued that, in most cases, the defense is vital to the smooth functioning of the criminal justice system.4
The purpose of this essay is to provide a critical review of the current state of the insanity defense in Ireland. The article analyzes the problematic legislative approach to sentencing, incarceration and hospitalization of people with personality disorders. An attempt is made to make a statement about the effectiveness of the law.
Defense of Madness: The Battle of Two Disciplines
There are currently three forms of insanity in Ireland: the Section 5 Insanity Defense, the Section 6 Diminished Liability Defense, and finally the Section 4 5 Claim of Inability to Seek an Exemption from Criminal Liability on the Basis of Absence ofreal men, while the purpose of the partial defense to diminished liability in Section 6 is to reduce a charge of manslaughter to manslaughter. Both defenses can only be raised if the person is capable of doing so.
pass the test. Even if the defendant did not successfully raise any of the above forms of mental illness during the trial, evidence of his mental disorder may still be considered at the sentencing stage of the trial.5
Section 1 of the Act defines "mental disorder" very loosely as "mental illness, intellectual disability, dementia and any mental illness but does not include poisoning". It is clear from the text of the legislation that the list is not exhaustive. The only further clarification can be found in Section 3 of the Mental Health Act 2001, which defines "mental illness". The initial problem stems from the fact that the term "madness" is not recognized even in psychiatry. An illness of the spirit is not to be equated with an illness of the brain, but must affect the mental faculties of reason, memory, and intellect.6Furthermore, it was confirmed by Diplock L inR vs Sullivan 7that the disease need not be permanent if it already existed at the time of the offence. Claiming a temporary mental illness can be problematic because the investigation can delay the process and it can be very difficult for the psychiatrist to retrospectively assess the person's mental state based on past events.
It is not clear from the definition whether personality disorders fall within the scope of the law. The authors' original intent was to include personality disorders.8However, it was later rejected over fears that it would turn defense into a license to kill. Despite this, it can be argued that some personality disorders, such as psychopathy, can also be defined as "illness of the mind", as suggested inPeople (DPP) vs. O'Mahony.9
The term is outdated and misleading, as the main concern of the law is not whether mental illness is present, but mental impairment and risk or recurrence.10As a result, McAuley criticized the approach whereby purely physical illnesses or conditions that only affect psychiatrists, such as epilepsy,11may, in some situations, be considered forms of legal insanity and labeled "insane" in legal terms, not necessarily in fact.12The 1975 Butler Committee in England suggested that the replacement of the term "madness" by "mental disorder" should mark the 21st century.stcentury legislation.
The purpose of an intentionally broad definition of mental disorder remains unclear. Currently, the concept of mental illness is a legal one, not a medical one, and psychiatrists are required to refer to the legal definition of mental illness when preparing an expert opinion. If future developments in psychiatric research are to be taken into account, the legal and psychiatric definition of a mental disorder needs to be standardized.
Unlike automatisms, only internal factors, as confirmed inR vs Sullivan,13may be involved in establishing a state of insanity in Ireland. Unlike England, the definition in Ireland explicitly excludes intoxication. The question then arises whether, for example, self-induced schizophrenia should be distinguished from genetically inherited schizophrenia. It is generally accepted among psychiatrists that, in addition to the generic predisposition, external factors such as marijuana use and alcohol dependence can also trigger the development of schizophrenia.14In England, the rule is more flexible, as people with alcohol-related disorders can raise the insanity defense when both mental illness and alcoholism lead to the commission of the crime.fifteen
Currently, the law in Ireland does not seem to support this argument and, as recently confirmed inPeople (DPP) against Crowe,16the fact of drunkenness can increase the sentence of life imprisonment, while accepting the exception of diminished responsibility. It is recognized by law that the objective of the defense is to mitigate the penalty of the crime committed. Interpreting this purpose differently may amount to judicial activism. It is recommended that the matter be left to the jury.17
The mere existence of a mental disorder at the time the crime was committed does not guarantee acceptance of the mental illness defense at trial. Section 5(1)(b) contains three additional requirements: ignorance of the nature and quality of the act, ignorance that he or she acted wrongly or unable to refrain from the act.18
The "kind and quality" of the action refers to its physical nature.19It would cover cases of hallucinations where the accused believed he had done something other than the act that was actually done, such as shooting hunters in the woods believing they were deer. The downside to this overly inclusive approach is that it includes cases where the suspect has no control over body movements, such as sleepwalking and epilepsy. It may be suggested that such physical ailments should not fall under the insanity defense.20
Section 5(1)(b)(ii) provides an alternative option when the accused did not know that what he or she did was wrong. However, the act must still proceed from the illness of the spirit. First, it could be argued that anyone who doesn't know the nature and quality of the plot doesn't need to know that it was wrong either.21
Emerges from the Goddard LCJ TrialR against diaper,22that the law deals only with errors of law. In practice, however, Campbell notes that the law of England and Wales may also take into account knowledge of the accused's moral failings, but the position has become unclear thereafter.R contra Johnson.23There is also no definitive test in Ireland, but Charleton and Hanley found that, in practice, the jury also instructs that error includes moral damage.24
The last provision of Section 5(1)(b)(iii) allows the defendant to plead mental illness if he is unable to withdraw from the act. The Irresistible Impulse Doctrine25was developedDoyle gegen Wicklow County Council 26ePeople (DPP) against Courtney.27Relying on the defense of an irresistible urge can be seen as problematic, allowing people to commit serious crimes and claiming they cannot fight back. It can be difficult to distinguish between an impulse that was irresistible because of an illness of the spirit and one that was caused by a desire for revenge.28Courts in other jurisdictions continue to oppose this concept. A good example of this hostility is the judgment of Riddle J in the Canadian case.R contra Creighton29where he famously said, "If you can't resist an urge in any other way, let's hang a rope in front of your eyes, and maybe that will help." This can turn out to be an incredibly reliable test during the study.Continues on the next page "
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Criminal Justice (Insanity) Act 2006
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Doyle gegen Wicklow County Council[1974] IR55
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People (DPP) vs. WB[2011] IECCC 1
Irish reports:
Irish Foundation for Penal Reform,Out of mind, out of sight: community solutions to criminalizing mentally ill prisoners(2001)
British Legislation:
Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964
Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Incapacity to Defend) Act 1991
Murder Act of 1957
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R vs Barry[2010] 2 All ER 1004
R vs Bratty[1963] AC 386
R v Codüre (1916) 12 Cr App R 21
R vs Davis[1881] 14 Cox-CC 563
R versus Dietschmann[2003] UKHL 10
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R contra Johnson[2007] EWCA Crime 1978
R vs Khan[2010] Krim LR 136
R vs Kemp[1957] 1QB 399
R vs Sullivan[1983] 2 All ER 673
R against diaper[1952] 2QB 826
R vs Young[2002] EWHC 548
Other jurisprudence:
R contra Creighton[1909] 14 CCC 249 (Canada)
Winterwerp against the Netherlands(1979) 2EHRR 397
Other legislation:
Criminal Code of the Russian Federation of 1996
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27.) (CCA 21. July 1994).
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43.)People (DPP) against Crowe[2009] 2 ILRM 225.
44.) Irish Penal Reform Trust,Out of mind, out of sight: community solutions to criminalizing mentally ill prisoners(2001).
45.)People (DPP) vs. WB[2011] IECCC 1 in 9.
46.) Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006, S 5 (1) (b) (iii).
47.) Darius Whelan, "The Criminal (Insanity) Act 2006"Annotated current Irish laws (2006), 2.
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49.) Eric Silver, Carmen Cirincione, Henry J Steadman, "Debunking Inaccurate Perceptions of the Insanity Defense" (1994) 18(1)Law and human behavior63-70 em 67.
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54.) Diarmuid Griffin, Ian O'Donnell, "The Life Sentence and Parole" (2012) 1Bit J Criminol1-19 a 3.
55.) Licensing and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2010, Section 168. Psychopathy is excluded from mental irresponsibility.