CJ 2300 MOD 3 DB

As stated in the text, (Pg. 198) even when a defendant suffers from a disability, however, that disability alone is not sufficient to excuse him or her of criminal responsibility. Only when the disability has the effect of in some way contributing to the criminal activity in question will the actor be excused.

According to the text (Pg. 268) The wrongfulness component of the M’Naughten Rule has been criticized for the fact that it focuses only on the cognitive component of the personality. In other words, to know that one’s actions are wrong requires the ability to think and to judge. Also, the M’Naughten Rule does not allow for degrees of insanity. Under the rule, either a person knows what he or she is doing, and knows that it is wrong, or he or she does not. With this rule there is no middle ground.

The text also states that the Durham Rule, also known as the “product rule”, built on the court’s belief that an inability to distinguish right from wrong is merely a symptom of mental disease, and that behavior resulting from the disease is a more apt determinant of legal insanity (Pg. 271).