One of the rules used when determining if a defendant can use an insanity defense is the M’Nahten Rule. The M’Naghten Rule allows the defendant to use the insanity defense to plead not guilty if they were not in control or aware of their actions. In this article, we will explain how to use the insanity defense and what the M’Naghten Rule has to do with criminal insanity.
What Is The Insanity Defense
The insanity defense does not hold those who are criminally insane accountable for their crimes because they were unaware of their actions. Instead, the defendant can plead not guilty if they fit the criteria of the M’Naghten Rule and get the psychiatric help they need.
What Is the M’Naghten Rule?
The M’Naghten Rule comes from the English legal system. It was created in 1843 after Daniel M’Naghten attempted to murder the Prime Minister at the time. He did not successfully murder the Prime Minister but instead killed the Prime Minister’s Secretary Edward Drummond.
During the criminal trial, M’Naghten was examined by medical experts and found to be psychotic. The courts were unable to find him guilty of the crime because he was not in control of his faculties. This was the first case of the insanity defense, and the court created the M’Naghten Rule to create criteria for criminal insanity.
The Insanity Defense and the M’Naghten Rule in the US
The M’Naghten Rule is slightly different in the United States. In order to successfully use the insanity defense, the defendant must prove that they were deranged to the point that they did not realise their actions at the time of the crime. This is because the defendant would not have realised that their actions were illegal.
Therefore, the M’Naghten Rule influences each state’s definition of criminal insanity, even if the process of using the insanity defense differs across the US.