Medical Ethics - A Very Short Introduction by Tony Hope

Author:Tony Hope
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-10-28T16:41:32.219000+00:00

18. An attempt to assassinate the British Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, in 1843, led to the establishment of the legal rules for determining when a person is not guilty of a crime on grounds of insanity.

countries, for a person to be found guilty of a crime two points have to be proven: that it was this person who carried out the relevant act; and that this person had the state of mind necessary to be held responsible for that act. The first aspect is known as the actus reus (‘guilty act’) and the second as the mens rea (‘guilty mind’). The precise mens rea required varies from crime to crime. For example, to be guilty of murder a person must have had ‘specific intent’, i.e. must have had the intention to kill (or cause serious physical harm to) the victim. To be found guilty of manslaughter it is necessary only to establish that the person showed gross negligence.

It is a long-established liberal principle that a person who suffers from a mental illness may be found ‘not guilty’, even though he committed a criminal act, on the grounds that he should not be held responsible for his behaviour, because of the illness. Crudely put: the person’s body committed the act, but the person’s mind did not commit the crime.

A key English case was that of Daniel McNaughten who, like Shakespeare, spelt his name in many different ways. McNaughten suffered delusional beliefs, including the belief that the British Tory Party was behind a plot to kill him. He decided to kill its leader, Sir Robert Peel. In 1843 he shot Peel’s secretary, Edward Drummond, but was prevented from firing a second shot. McNaughten was acquitted of murder on the grounds of insanity and was sent to a secure psychiatric hospital (the Bethlem hospital in South London, which is the origin of the word bedlam). The acquittal caused public outrage. The House of Lords asked the judges to draw up rules (now known as the McNaughten rules) for determining when someone should be considered ‘not guilty’ on grounds of insanity.

Protecting society from dangerous people

A person without mental disorder who commits a violent crime of sufficient gravity is typically sent to prison. There are a number of reasons for sending such a person to prison. One reason is as retribution: he deserves to be punished. Another reason is to protect society.

There are two crucial liberal principles that are incorporated into criminal law – and are part of the European law on human rights:

1. A person who has not (yet) committed a crime cannot be detained on the grounds that it is expected that he will commit a crime.

2. A person must be allowed back into the community once he has served his prison sentence, although some crimes may attract a life sentence.

These two principles apply, however, only to those who do not suffer a mental disorder. If you have committed a violent act as a result of mental illness you can be detained in a psychiatric hospital as long as it is thought that you pose sufficient risk to others.

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