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Insanity Defense

A legal concept that an accused is not criminally responsible if, at the time of committing the act, the person was laboring under such a defect of reason from disease of the mind as not to know the nature and quality of the act done or if the act was known, to not have known that what was done was wrong. (From Black's Law Dictionary, 6th ed)

Year introduced: 1991(1985)

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Subheadings:

Tree Number(s): F04.096.544.335.528, I01.198.780.937.469.528, I01.880.604.583.310.528, N03.706.535.351.528

MeSH Unique ID: D007298

Entry Terms:

  • Defense, Insanity
  • McNaughton Rule
  • Rule, McNaughton
  • Criminal Insanity
  • Insanity, Criminal
  • M'Naghten Rule
  • Rule, M'Naghten

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