case study of daniel m'naghten case study of roper vs simmons

1. By- Shubhangi Semwal

3. A skilled lawyer and a criminologist requires knowledge of psychology in answering such
questions as:
How well a witness remembers an accident, a street fight, or a murder?
How well can s/he report such facts when taking the witness stand in the court?
What factors influence the decision which is taken by the jury?
What are the dependable signs of guilt and falsehood?
What factors are held important in holding a culprit responsible for her/his action?
What degree of punishment is considered just for a criminal act?
. Currently, a number of psychologists are involved in research on such
issues, the answers to which would help the legal system of the country in the future

4. Psychology's Role in the Legal System
• Criminal psychology, also referred to as criminological psychology, is the study of
the views, thoughts, intentions, actions and reactions of criminals and all who
participate in criminal behavior.[1][2]
• . The study goes deeply into what makes someone commit a crime, but also the
reactions after the crime.
• Criminal psychologists have many roles within the court systems, these include
being called up as witnesses in court cases to help the jury understand the mind of
the criminal.
• They can be used to do investigative work, like examine photographs of a crime, or
conduct an interview with a suspect. They sometimes have to formulate a
hypothesis, in order to assess what an offender is going to do next, after they have
broken the law.
• Forensic psychology, a subfield of psychology, involves the application of
psychological knowledge and methods to both civil and criminal legal questions.

6. Case of Daniel M'Naghten
• Daniel M'Naghtenwas a Scottish woodturner who assassinated English civil servant Edward
Drummond while suffering from paranoiddelusions
• At the court, he made a brief statement in which he described how persecution by the Tories
had driven him to act: "The Tories in my native city have compelled me to do this. They
follow, persecute me wherever I go, and have entirely destroyed my peace of mind... It can be
proved by evidence. That is all I have to say”
• When asked to plead guilty or not guilty, M'Naghten had said "I was driven to desperation
by persecution" and, when pressed, "I am guilty of firing", which was taken as a not guilty
plea.
• [.
• .The defence lawyer went to say that M'Naghten's delusions had led to a breakdown of
moral sense and loss of self-control, which, according to medical experts, had left him in a
state where he was no longer a "reasonable and responsible being”
Conclusion-
Both sides agreed that
M'Naghten suffered
from delusions of
persecution
"The jury returned a
verdict of not guilty on
the ground of insanity.

7. • The M'Naghten rule is a test for criminal insanity.
• Section 84 IPC embodies McNaughton rules as follows:
• “Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of
doing it, by reason of unsoundness of mind, is incapable of knowing
the nature of the act or that he is doing what is either wrong or
contrary to the law
• The rule was formulated as a reaction to the acquittal in 1843 of Daniel
M'Naghten on the charge of murdering Edward Drummond.
M’NAGHTEN RULES

8. Roper vs Simmons Case
• In 1993, in the state of Missouri, 17-year-old Christopher Simmons,
along with two younger friends,, concocted a plan to murder Shirley
Nite Crook.
• The plan was to commit burglary and murder by breaking and
entering, tying up the victim. Simmons and Benjamin broke into
Mrs. Nite Crook's home, bound her hands and covered her eyes.
They drove her to a state park and threw her off a bridge. Later she
was found dead by drowning.
• He was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
• However, in light of a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in Atkins v.
Virginia, that overturned the death penalty for the intellectually
disabled, Simmons filed a new petition for state post-conviction
relief. The Supreme Court of Missouri concluded that "a national
consensus has developed against the execution of juvenile
offenders" and held that such punishment now violates the Eighth
Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.[6]
CONCLUSION-
They sentenced Simmons to life
imprisonment without parole.
Juvenile death penalty was abolished
The majority opinion used several of
APA’s arguments in reaching its
conclusion

9. APA ‘S POSITION ( AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION)
• APA submitted an amicus curiae brief together with the Missouri
Psychological Association which provided the court with research and
expert opinion about the characteristics of adolescents such as less
mature decision-making, impulsivity, risk-taking, peer orientation,
temporal perspective and vulnerability to coercion and false
confession.
• In addition, included was recent relevant MRI research on brain
function suggesting that the brain continues to develop through
young adulthood in areas that may bear on adolescent decision-
making.
• APA’s brief asserts that a categorical exclusion of 16- and 17-year-olds
from the death penalty is warranted based on the research and the
fact that assessment of character and likelihood of dangerousness as
an adult in the death penalty context cannot be sufficiently reliable to
satisfy constitutional standards.
Since a child is unable to
control his actions that lead
to criminality, excessive
punishment for those actions
is cruel and unusual.
The Eigth amendment of the
United States Constitution
prohibits the infliction of
cruel and unusual
punishment