Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the origins, development and changes of mental disability law and to examine how the law has handled the mentally ill offender. It was argued that the core elements of insanity are rooted in the moral philosophical writings of antiquity, biblical and theological sources, and in the literature of behavioral medicine. ;This study then turned to an examination of several models which have been proposed as reformulations of the insanity defense. These models were assessed for their respective ability to maintain balance between the core elements of insanity. This study concluded that each proposed reformulation had either failed to include one or more of the core elements, or was unsuccessful in retaining the full constellation of necessary elements. The research methodology employed in this study was descriptive in nature. The elements of insanity were located in the moral philosophical writings of the Hellenic world, and then traced through its development in the literature of Roman law, the Holy Scriptures, early Church Council pronouncements, theological perspectives concerning children and the insane, medieval and church law, and the rise of behavioral medicine. The parallel developments between these fields were also highlighted and discussed. ;The results of this study demonstrated that the origins of the insanity defense began much earlier than many researchers have believed. Moreover, it was argued that a proper contemporary view of the insanity defense is achieved only when its moral philosophical and theological roots are understood and incorporated into a legal definition of insanity. Furthermore, this study concluded that more recent efforts to reformulate the insanity defense have been largely incomplete and unsuccessful. ;This study concludes with an assessment of the relative contributions made by this investigation, along with a discussion of several limitations that temper the significance of the results. The findings of this study indicate that further investigation is warranted and some suggestions for future research are offered