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M'Naughten Test Established
A defendant should not be held responsible for their actions if they cannot understand the difference between right and wrong at the time of the crime. This law was embraced without any modifcations for about a hundred years. -
Earliest known laws for insanity
The earliest recorded laws that established the difference between the people who understood the difference between right and wrong and those who didn't. -
Mental Defect Rule
A defendant could not be found criminally responsible if the crime was a result of being mentally disease. They thought this may have been too loose of a term. -
A.L.I. Standard
The American Law Institute set out an insantity defense statue to soft the M'Naughten standard and allow for medical and physchiatric evidence in court. -
After HInckley
John Hinckley Jr. tried to assasinate Ronald Reagan and claimed that he was in love with an actress and tried to impress her with his crime. He was found not guilty due to insanity, but they were not happy with this outcome and needed to find ways to strengthen the system. -
Insanity Defense Reform Act
They didn't completely abandon the A.L.I Standard but created a stricter version that resembled the M'Naughten Standard.