CRIME AND MADNESS The Origins and Evolution of the Insanity Defense

Hardback. John W. Hinckley, Jr.'s shooting of President Reagan and his subsequent successful use, in court, of the insanity defence created widespread outrage. Under the mistaken impression that this defence reflects a relatively recent, and excessively "soft" departure from the proper severity of criminal justice, irate legislators proposed reforms, some of them flagrantly unconstitutional. The author presents a complete study of the insanity defence: its long history, the emotional and intellectual justifications for its existence, the legal and medical difficulties of its administration, the objections that have been raised, and the solutions that have been proposed. Filled with colourful case histories and anecdotes, the author covers the law from its beginnings in medieval England down to the 'present' day in the United States. The author's general conclusion, arrived at after deep study of this perplexing problem, is that there are irrefutable ethical and legal reasons for the existence of the insanity defence, despite the fact that, because of the very nature of mental illness, it is difficult to find fully satisfactory legal rules for its application. With Source Notes and Index. 201pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Vg+ in Vg pcdw which has 'wrinkle' mks to lower cover and v. sl. faded sp.