Criminal responsibility ,Homicide

Criminal responsibility
· in England and Wales, it starts at the age of 10 - children under 10 are excluded
because they are deemed incapable of criminal intent
· in Scotland, it begins at the age of 8
· children between 10 and 14 do not have mens rea unless it can be proved otherwise
– this is termed Dolci incapax and means that criminal responsibility is partial
· after the age of 14, an individual is legally responsible for their actions unless caused
by:
· a mistake
· an accident
· duress
· necessity
· mental disorder
Homicide
· in England and Wales, it may be:
· lawful and justifiable (e.g. killing on behalf of the state)
· lawful and excusable
· unlawful – this is ‘the unlawful killing of any reasonable creature in being and
under the Queen’s peace, the death following within a year and a day’
· causing death by dangerous driving
Insanity in bar of trial
Fitness to plead
· English law requires that the defendant must be in a fit condition to defend himself
· the issue can only be decided by a jury
· if the accused is found unfit to plead and the charge is murder, an order is made
committing him to any hospital specified by the Home Secretary where he may be
detained without limit of time and can be discharged only at the discretion of the
Home Secretary
· in determining fitness to plead, it is necessary to determine how far the defendant
can:
1. understand the nature of the charge
2. understand the difference between pleading guilty and not guilty
3. instruct counsel
4. challenge jurors
5. examine a witness
6. follow the proceedings in court
Disposal of those deemed insane in bar of trial
· three stage process:
1. Determine whether or not insane in bar of trial (evidence from two doctors, one
approved)
2. Examination of facts:
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· as near as possible to an ordinary trial, but held in the presence of a sheriff or
judge alone
· if not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, then acquitted
· if satisfied, then disposal
3. Disposal of insanity cases:
· hospital order +/- restrictions
· guardianship order
· new supervision and treatment order
· discharge with no order
· for murder, there is mandatory hospital and restriction orders

Forensic aspects of psychiatry

Forensic aspects of psychiatry
Associations between psychiatric disorders and crime
Possible relationships between crime and mental disorder
1. coincidence
2. correlation
3. cause
· among male sentenced prisoners in England and Wales
· 37 % have diagnosable disorder
· 0.6 % have mental retardation
· 2 % have psychosis
· 6 % neurotic disorder
· 10 % personality disorder
· 12 % alcohol dependence
· 12 % drug dependence
· convicted prisoners:
· 5.2% major psychological disorder (Cooke 1994)
· remand prisoners:
· 2.3% major psychiatric disorder (Davidson et al. 1995)
· 14.1% depression
· 10.8% anxiety and agitation
· 22.4% alcohol problem
· 70% had abused drugs
· the disorders most likely to be associated with crime are:
· personality disorders
· alcohol and drug dependence
· mental retardation
State Hospital admission
· factors precipitating admission:
· alcohol or drug intoxication 21.2%
· non-compliance with medication and relapse 11.2%
· psychosis 54.8%
· ‘normal’ aggression 15.4%
Important studies
1. Hafner & Boker, 1982
· all homicides and attempted homicides in West Germany 1955-64
· mental disorder was associated with 5% of these
· the rate of mental disorder in the community was 3-5%
· homicidal violence rateschizophrenia = 5/10,000
· schizophrenics were 100x more likely to commit suicide than
homicide
· homicidal violence rateaffective disorder = 6/100,000
· affective disorders were 1000x more likely to commit suicide than
homicide
2. Swanson et al. 1990 ‘Violence and psychiatric disorder in the community:
evidence from the epidemiological catchment area survey’
· violence in last 12 months:
· non-substance use schizophrenia 8.3%
· substance abuse 21%
· substance abuse schizophrenia 30%
· active psychotic symptoms are associated with an increased risk of violence
Patterns of offending
· peak age of offending is:
· 14 in girls; there is another peak around the menopause
· 17-18 in boys
· 50% of all indictable crimes are committed by people under the age of 21
· the sex ratio of convicted men to women is approximately 5:1
· by the age of 30, around 30% of men have been convicted of an indictable offence