Insanity In The 19th Century

The insanity defense and legality of those who were deemed insane was an important question in the nineteenth century. The question of insanity was contested because it had become a medical question in an age of rampant science. The English court formulated the most important legal definition of insanity, the right-or-wrong test. The high court in England ruled a defendant could be deemed insane if and only if, while committing the crime, he was “laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know that nature and quality of the act he was doing; or, if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.” The definition reflected nineteenth century themes of self control and discipline and stressed
To supplement the right-or-wrong test, some states added the concept of “irresistible impulse” which had a medical basis that applied the concept of “moral mania.” The additional test was intended to recognize conditions that can affect human emotion while not disturbing cognitive function. The state of New Hampshire had the most progressive understanding of the insanity plea in the nineteenth century. Notably, Justice Charles Doe adopted the ideas of Dr. Isaac Ray, a leading expert on “ medical jurisprudence of insanity.” Justice Doe, in his opinion on a murder trial, said, “insanity has been for the most part, a growth of the modern state of society. Like many other diseases, it is caused, to a great degree, by the habits and incidents of civilized life.” In the twentieth century cases of “temporary insanity” emerged based on the doctrine of diminished responsibility. This development brought forth another group of cases that cited total drunkenness as the defense for their actions. By the standards of the law, “voluntary intoxication” was “no excuse for a crime committed under its influence.” The act of being under the influence was no excuse but now the question of intent is