HM Advocate v Savage (1923) JC 49
Citation:HM Advocate v Savage (1923) JC 49
Rule of thumb: Where a person can show that they had a serious psychiatric illness, even though technically not quite at the extent of being insane as a matter of law, can this reduce the severity of a criminal charge? Yes, this is diminished responsibility that a person was badly mentally ill, even though not insane, & it can reduce a criminal charge – it can reduce murder to manslaughter/culpable homicide.
Judgment:
"It is very difficult to it put in a phrase, but it has been put in this way: that there must be aberration or weakness of mind; that there must be some form of mental unsoundness; that there must be a state of mind which is bordering on, though not amounting to, insanity; that there must be a mind so affected that responsibility is diminished from full responsibility to partial responsibility – in other words, the prisoner in question must be only partially accountable for his actions. And I think one can see running through the cases that there is implied ... that there must be some form of mental disease." Lord Alness
Warning: This is not professional legal advice. This is not professional legal education advice. Please obtain professional guidance before embarking on any legal course of action. This is just an interpretation of a Judgment by persons of legal insight & varying levels of legal specialism, experience & expertise. Please read the Judgment yourself and form your own interpretation of it with professional assistance.