Insanity As A Legal Defense From A Historical Perspective

Abstract

Crime and punishment go hand in hand. A crime is human conduct, prohibited by law, which harms the community at large and is, therefore, taken more seriously than a civil wrong that affects an individual or a particular group of individuals. Itis for some reason that, unlike a civil wrong, in the case of crime, thestate moves by itself against the wrongdoer and decides whether to prosecute him or not. The 'physical force' of the state or the 'sanction behind the law' is more obvious in the form of punishment when criminal law is violated or breached.