Author Question: Briefly outline the conditions inherent in the M'Naghten ruling for finding a defendant not guilty ... (Read 63 times)

K@ · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

Briefly outline the conditions inherent in the M'Naghten ruling for finding a defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, and then discuss the changes that have occurred in U.S. law that have modified the conditions for its successful application.

Answer:

Question 2

How does Lenore Walker's concept of the battered woman syndrome explain why it is so hard for a battered woman to leave an abusive relationship?

Answer:

Bison · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The basic condition laid down in the M'Naghten ruling was that a defendant could be found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) if suffering a defect of reason (mental disorder) that made it impossible for him to understand right from wrong. Subsequent developments first broadened and later narrowed the grounds for determining insanity. Parsons expanded it to include conditions in which the person might intellectually know that what he did was wrong, but he was overcome by an irresistible impulse. Durham introduced the product test, which suggested that if someone's behavior was the product of a mental disorder or mental disease, they could be found NGRI. This ruling made no attempt to define either product or mental disease, and it led to circular reasoning: for instance, antisocial personality disorder is defined by criminal behavior, yet the same criminal behavior proved the perpetrator was insane. Durham was overruled in 1972 and replaced by the Insanity Defense Reform Act of 1984 in which an individual can be found NGRI if he suffers from a mental disorder and, as a result of that disorder, can't comprehend the nature and quality of his actions. This combines concepts from the M'Naghten case with the idea of irresistible impulses, stating: A person is not responsible for criminal conduct if, at the time of such conduct and as a result of mental disease or defect, he lacks substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.

Answer to Question 2

According to Lenore Walker, chronic abuse has psychological effects on victims, which she called the battered woman syndrome. Walker postulates a cycle of violence, that includes three stages: (1) a tension-building phase leading up to violence; (2) the battering incident itself; and (3) a stage of loving contrition, during which the batterer apologizes and attempts to make amends. Second, Walker asserts that the abused woman is prevented from leaving the relationship by learned helplessness. This implies that the battered woman expects to be beaten repeatedly but is immobilized and unable to leave the relationship.