Abstract
The acquittal of John W. Hinckley, Jr., by reason of insanity in June, 1982, although it aroused a public outcry against the exculpatory insanity rule and provoked widespread criticism of the psychiatric profession, did not further the drive for abolition of the insanity defense. On the contrary, the Hinckley verdict served as a stimulus for organizations and individuals that favored retention of the defense to graft the concept onto state and federal laws more firmly than ever before.
Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subtleties, which may make anything mean everything or nothing at pleasure. Thomas Jefferson
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© 1989 Plenum Press, New York
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Halpern, A.L. (1989). The American Psychiatric Association Insanity Rule—A Metaphysical Subtlety. In: Rosner, R., Harmon, R.B. (eds) Criminal Court Consultation. Critical Issues in American Psychiatry and the Law, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0739-6_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0739-6_7
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