Cobh tragedy: Anachronistic insanity label must be removed
The Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 introduced major changes concerning mental health and criminal law. For example, it changed the verdict in some of these cases from ‘guilty but insane’ to ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’. In order for such a verdict to be reached, the act requires the following: (a) the accused person was suffering at the time from a mental disorder, and (b) the mental disorder was such that the accused person ought not to be held responsible for the act alleged by reason of the fact that he or she — (i) did not know the nature and quality of the act, or (ii) did not know that what he or she was doing was wrong, or
(iii) was unable to refrain from committing the act, the court or the jury, as the case may be, shall return a special verdict to the effect that the accused person is not guilty by reason of insanity.
