percentage rate of successful of instanity defense

#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE PRO#
#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE CODE#
#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE TRIAL#
#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE FREE#

Among the four females, two were acquitted due to insanity. Among the 90 males, 16 were acquitted due to insanity.

#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE TRIAL#

Those cases where the trial was vitiated (four cases), or the accused was acquitted due to lack of evidence (four cases) were excluded from this analysis.Īmong the 94 cases, the accused was male in 90 cases and female in four cases. The data was analyzed further to check for the association of the gender of the accused, the decision of the lower court, availability of psychiatrist's opinion, psychiatric diagnosis, and also the availability of documentary evidence of mental illness prior to the crime with the final verdict delivered by the High Court. In addition, information pertaining to the gender of the accused, the relationship of the victim to the accused, the duration between the crime and the psychiatric evaluation, and the duration between the crime and the judgment were also retrieved.įactors associated with High Court verdict

#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE PRO#

Interim orders and bail appeals were excluded from this study.Ī semi-structured pro forma was used to gather details regarding the nature of the crime, diagnosis provided by the psychiatrist as an expert witness, documents used to prove mental illness, and the judgment pronounced by the High Court. All judgments where the perpetrator was alleged to have mental illness, and insanity defense was raised were included. Judgments delivered for criminal cases were reviewed in detail to check of its eligibility for inclusion in this study. The websites were searched using the keywords ‘mental illness’ and ‘insanity’, and the judgments delivered between and 31.08.17 were retrieved.

#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE FREE#

The information was collected only from those High Courts which offered an option of free text search in their websites. The data was collected from the websites of 23 High Courts of India from the official link. The present study was conducted to estimate the success rate of insanity pleas in Indian High Courts and to determine the factors associated with the outcome of such insanity pleas. However, questions regarding the outcome of insanity pleas in India and the factors associated with the outcome of such pleas have largely remained unanswered.

The concepts of medical versus legal insanity, the burden of proof in insanity cases, and the role of psychiatrists in insanity pleas have been well described. The meaning and scope of each phrase of Section 84 IPC have been extensively described with illustrative examples by several authors. This Section 84 of IPC was heavily influenced by McNaughton's rules, and there is no other provision for an insanity defense in Indian courts.

#PERCENTAGE RATE OF SUCCESSFUL OF INSTANITY DEFENSE CODE#

In India, Section 84 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) deals with the act of a person of unsound mind. Irresistible impulse test, Durham rule, and the American Law Institute's model penal code have been proposed in the subsequent decades to address the shortcomings of the McNaughton's rule. Despite criticisms leveled against McNaughton's rules as a ‘test of knowing’, and the undue stress it places on the intellectual dimension rather than the moral or affective dimensions, it continues to enjoy widespread usage. The introduction of McNaughton's rules in 1843 was a watershed moment in the history of the insanity defense. The plea of insanity as a defense in criminal cases has a long and fascinating history.

Percentage rate of successful of instanity defense