Department of Law, University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Frenchay, Bristol BS16 1QY, United Kingdom.
Int J Law Psychiatry. 2012 Mar-Apr;35(2):88-98. doi: 10.1016/j.ijlp.2011.12.002. Epub 2012 Jan 30.
The timing of the English Law Commission's consideration of reform to the law of insanity coincides with increasing scientific and in particular neuroscientific understanding of the brain. The work of researchers is leading to a greater comprehension of what had been termed irresistible impulses to commit crime and of the impact of brain damage, particularly evidence of brain lesions and frontal lobe damage on behaviour. There remain problems in establishing causal relationships which might diminish or eliminate criminal responsibility for crimes committed by those suffering from pre existing mental conditions at the time they commit a criminal offence. This is especially the case where those mental conditions are of short duration. However, the law should not ignore the best available scientific knowledge. Neuroscientific advances are already informing court deliberations in England and Wales: assisting in considerations of guilt, fitness to plead and in sentencing. In terms of the insanity defence the questions that the law seeks to address are not necessarily the most medically or scientifically pertinent questions. They remain grounded in 19th century scientific understanding. It is argued that the more nuanced Dutch approach to mental condition defences warrants very serious consideration by those charged with making proposals to reform the English law.
英国法律委员会对精神错乱法进行改革的时机恰逢科学界，尤其是神经科学界对大脑的理解不断加深。研究人员的工作使人们对所谓的不可抗拒的犯罪冲动以及脑损伤的影响，特别是脑损伤和额叶损伤对行为的影响有了更深入的了解。在确定因果关系方面仍然存在问题，这些问题可能会减轻或免除那些在犯罪时已经患有先前存在的精神疾病的人对犯罪行为的刑事责任。在那些精神状况持续时间较短的情况下尤其如此。然而，法律不应忽视现有的最佳科学知识。神经科学的进步已经在英格兰和威尔士的法庭审议中提供了信息：有助于考虑犯罪、答辩能力和量刑。就精神错乱辩护而言，法律试图解决的问题不一定是最具医学或科学相关性的问题。它们仍然基于 19 世纪的科学理解。有人认为，荷兰对精神状况辩护的更为细致入微的方法值得那些负责提出改革英国法律建议的人进行非常认真的考虑。
