EBOOK Manifest Madness:Mental Incapacity in the Criminal Law

Whether it is a question of the age below which a child cannot be held liable for        their actions, or the attribution of responsibility to defendants with mental        illnesses, mental incapacity is a central concern for legal actors, policy makers,        and legislators when it comes to crime and justice.Understanding mental incapacity        in criminal law is notoriously difficu< it involves tracing overlapping and        interlocking legal doctrines, current and past practices of evidence and proof, and        also medical and social understandings of mental illness and incapacity. With its        focus on the complex interaction of legal doctrines and practices relating to mental        incapacity and knowledge - both expert and non-expert - of it, this book offers a        fresh perspective on this topic. Bringing togetherpreviously disparate discussions        on mental incapacity from law, psychology, and philosophy, this book provides a        close study of this terrain of criminal law, analysing the development of mental        incapacity doctrines through historical cases to the modern era. It maps the        shifting boundaries aroundabnormality as constructed in law, arguing that the mental        incapacity terrain has a distinct character - 'manifest madness'.