State Of Insanity Research Articles

Insanity Defence Under the Indian Criminal justice System

The "Insanity Defence" within the framework of the Indian Legal System serves as a protective measure for individuals accused of criminal offenses, especially when they lack the mental capacity to understand the nature of their actions or differentiate between right and wrong. This defence aligns with the legal principle “Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea,” which emphasizes that for an action to be deemed unlawful, it must be accompanied by a guilty mind. Consequently, punishing individuals who are not accountable for their actions would contravene fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution of India. To delve deeper into the concept of the insanity defence, it's essential to trace its origins and development within English law and its subsequent impact on Indian legal statutes. It's crucial to understand that insanity defence isn't merely a matter of suffering from a mental illness; rather, it requires a demonstration that the accused lacked the mental capacity to comprehend the consequences of their actions. Thus, the burden of proof lies with the accused, who must provide compelling evidence to establish their state of insanity, akin to the standard of “preponderance of the evidence” often seen in civil cases. This paper seeks to analyze the intricacies of insanity within the legal framework and how it has evolved into a potential loophole within the current judicial system.

Compulsory Treatment of Persons Who Have Committed a Socially Dangerous Act in a State of Mental Disorder or Who Have Fallen Ill After Such an Аct: Historical Aspect

Introduction. The object of the study is the legal relationship on the establishment of state compulsory medical treatment for persons with mental disorders who have committed socially dangerous acts established in the monuments of Russian criminal law (1649–1960). Methods. In this study, the historical method was used accordingly. The comparative legal method was also used, which made it possible to draw the main conclusion – about the evolutionary (smooth, not abrupt) state regulation of these legal relations. The application of the theological method led to the conclusion that until the beginning of the XIXth century, these persons who had not committed serious socially dangerous acts were kept either by relatives or in monasteries, being essentially outcasts. Results. One of the main conclusions was the conclusion that it is necessary to return to the list of socially dangerous acts committed by persons in a state of insanity or by persons who became insane after committing such an act, as the basis for applying compulsory medical measures to such a person. Discussion and Conclusion. In this study, the author came to the following conclusions: 1) state compulsory measures against persons with mental disorders were first officially enshrined in the Cathedral Code of 1649: they represented control over the independent healing of a sick person for his subsequent responsibility in court; 2) state compulsory measures for persons with mental disorders in the form of premises: in the monastery were provided in 1715 by the Military Article, in the orders of public charity in 1775, in special homes of the insane in 1845 by the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments; 3) state compulsory measures against persons with mental disorders in the form of compulsory treatment of such persons were first provided for in 1922 by the Criminal Code of the RSFSR. At the same time the basis for the application of such measures narrowed: if before the RSFSR Criminal Code of 1922, such a basis (in addition to the crime committed by him) was the danger of such a person (both for himself and for society), then since 1922 such the basis (in addition to the crime committed) began to recognize the danger of such a person only to society. This state of affairs existed normatively until the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in 1996. The statement of this fact refuted the hypothesis of an evolutionary improvement in the attitude towards persons with mental disorders according to the monuments of Russian law. This research can be used in the study of the historical development of the types of state compulsory measures on the treatment of persons with mental disorders (who committed or fell ill after a socially dangerous act), and for determination of the grounds for the application of each of them.

The essence and particulars of the circumstances that exclude administrative liability

The article examines the essence and peculiarities of the circumstances that exclude administrative responsibility under national legislation. It is emphasized that the recognition of circumstances that exclude administrative responsibility is an important element of human rights protection, which allows to avoid unfair and excessive imposition of an administrative penalty on a person who has committed an offense and to ensure the fair application of the law. According to the provisions of the Code of Ukraine on administrative offenses, the following are the circumstances that exclude administrative responsibility: extreme necessity, necessary defense and state of insanity. It is emphasized that the application of extreme necessity as a circumstance does not mean that a person will not bear administrative responsibility for other actions that were committed without this circumstance. In turn, exemption from administrative liability in case of extreme necessity does not mean automatic release of a person from civil or criminal liability, if such liability has occurred. It was concluded that the necessary defense can be applied only as a reaction to an illegal act. If the act was legal, the necessary defense as a circumstance exempting from administrative responsibility is not applicable. The position on the medical and legal criteria of insanity, as well as the peculiarities of the content of this circumstance, which excludes administrative responsibility, is supported. The need for detailing and normative consolidation of the procedure and conditions of application of circumstances that exclude administrative responsibility is emphasized. Moreover, this applies to both material and procedural components of the application of such circumstances. In the long term, this should have a positive impact on the effectiveness of law enforcement, ensure compliance with the principle of people-centeredness, and also improve the activity of subjects of authority in applying measures of administrative jurisdiction.

Диференціація відповідальності за вчинення адміністративних правопорушень

The Ukraine’s acquisition of the status of a "candidate state" of member states of the European Union, as well as the influence and observance of the international legislation on human rights and freedoms, significantly complements the administrative and legal status of citizens of our country. The ratification by the Ukrainian state of the European Convention on Human Rights (1997) and other international legal acts related to rights and freedoms opened a new stage in the development of national legal science, especially regarding the protection of the rights of natural persons [1, p. 15‒32]. Existing approaches in the administrative and legal science to the protection of individual rights, as well as to the application of measures of coercive influence to the violator, are closely related to the characterization of a natural person as a participant in the administrative and legal relations existing in society. Note that Chapter 11 of the Constitution of Ukraine contains a non-exhaustive list of rights, freedoms and responsibilities of a human and a citizen [2]. The legislator also uses the term "person" in order to specify the individuality of a natural person and his/her legal status with the designation of his/her features. At the same time, the presence of terms characterizing the administrative and legal status of an individual always requires clarification of the relationship between such terms as "natural person", "citizen", as well as their legal impact on the differentiation of liability of subjects who commit administrative offenses. Each of the mentioned terms has different interpretations according to the object and subject of research, which in general indicate the historical, social, cultural and other attainments of a person who possesses socially determined and individual qualities that are manifested in the intellect, emotions and will of a person. When characterizing a natural person, it is worth noting the social connections and relations, features and qualities that have social and individual significance. These include: the ability to think and make conscious and not instinctive decisions; individuality (talent, education, profession, preferences, etc.); freedom, that is, the right to choose from the options of behavior provided by society, which ensures the realization of personal interests and does not violate the rights of other subjects; responsibility to society [3, p. 630]. It is worth noting that the concepts of "person" and "personality" are not equivalent to each other, especially in terms of defining a human as a person. In our case, we may be talking about the insanity of a person who, at the time of committing illegal actions or inaction, is in a state of insanity, that is, could not be aware of his/her actions or control them due to a chronic mental illness, a temporary disorder of mental activity, mental retardation or another medical condition [4]. The social and individual characteristics of a natural person testify to its administrative and legal status, the essence of which is the establishment by the norms of administrative law of the subject's position, which is characterized by subjective rights, legal obligations and liability of the subject in the field of the public administration [5, p. 405]. Therefore, it is relevant to characterize the differentiation of the liability of subjects for committing administrative offenses, the administrative and legal status of which in most cases is asymmetric, since individuals act within the limits of rights and freedoms granted to them.

Beschuldigd van kindermoord voor het Hof van Assisen van West-Vlaanderen, 1868-1914

Even after 1867, date of the new Belgian criminal code, several child murders were prosecuted before the Court of Assizes of West Flanders. The victims were usually children out of wedlock and the perpetrators usually their unmarried mothers. Although the criminal law still allowed this, none of those perpetrators were punished with the death penalty. A life-long forced labour was then the highest punishment, but was then also imposed very exceptionally. Forced labour of 7 to 15 years was then the most commonly imposed punishment. Because there is nothing in the preserved records about what the accused or their lawyers stated during the sessions of the Assize Court and because the juries never motivated their positive or negative verdict on the guilt of the accused, the question why the accused of a child murder was found guilty or innocent and then punished or acquitted, never can be answered with one hundred percent certainty. More specifically, in acquittals, careful consideration should be given to whether the accused was acquitted because the jury did not consider the material or moral element of the infanticide to be proven. Blindly claiming that all mothers charged with infanticide were acquitted because those mothers were in a state of insanity or psychological distress is an injustice to the jurors and history.

Some Issues of Terminating a Criminal Case

This publication continues the experience of covering the work of the Scientific and Meth­odological Council under the Prosecutor of the Omsk Region, among the main tasks of which remains the development and discussion, together with representatives of legal science, of sound recommenda­tions on problematic issues of prosecutorial supervision, legislation and law enforcement practice, legal advisory opinions on issues arising in prosecutorial practice. In this regard, the article proposes to dis­cuss certain topical problems of law enforcement practice raised at one of the last meetings of the Scien­tific and Methodological Council under the Prosecutor of the Omsk Region. Thus, based on a systematic analysis of errors in the implementation of the institution of a judicial fine, it is proposed to provide prosecutors with systematic supervision over compliance with the requirements of the law when it is ap­plied, which requires a more thorough study of criminal cases, as well as a proper initiative to establish the circumstances associated with the application of a judicial fine, and timely challenging unfounded court decisions. In addition, the practice of law enforcement highlights the fundamental problem of a unified interpretation of the grounds for terminating a criminal case (criminal prosecution) against a person who has committed an act prohibited by criminal law in a state of insanity. Based on the analy­sis of legal situations and various approaches to their resolution, the article argues for the need to make a decision on the studied criminal cases on the grounds of paragraph 4 of part 1 of Art. 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation in connection with the death of a person involved in criminal proceedings. In other similar situations, but related to the criminal prosecution of these persons, the deci­sion must be made taking into account the specific circumstances of the criminal case.

BACK TO THE UNSOLVED QUESTIONS OF COERCIVE MEDICAL MEASURES’ APPLICATION

The article retrospectively examines the problematic circumstances that remained unresolved at the time of the study in the proceedings on the application of coercive medical measures. It is noted that there are still a lot of terminological errors in the domestic criminal procedure legislation, as well as incorrect regulatory systematization, inevitably leading to errors in the process of investigation and trial in a specific category of criminal cases. Attention is drawn to the lack of a unified position of researchers on the possibility of the subject under consideration to be a participant in criminal law relations. There is an emerging trend towards a different perception of the studied relationships. Due to the modern level of cognition, some constituent elements of the legal status of the person who has committed the act prohibited by criminal law in a state of insanity are disclosed. The positions of scientists and norms of the current legislation on the raised subject of research are given; arguments in favor of the author's position are put forward. As a conclusion, specific changes and additions to article 437 of chapter 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation are offered.

Features of the criminal procedural status of a person in respect of whom proceedings are being conducted on the application of compulsory medical measures

The criminal procedural status of a participant in criminal proceedings is of particular importance in the implementation of his criminal procedural functions during the investigation of a criminal case. In the article, the author presents the characteristics of the criminal procedural status of a person who committed a socially dangerous act in a state of insanity and a person whose mental disorder occurred after the commission of a crime. The procedural rights, duties and legal responsibility of a key participant in the proceedings on the use of compulsory medical measures are considered. The procedural rights of this participant in criminal procedural legal relations are classified depending on the implementation of a specific function during the investigation of a criminal case. The author draws attention to the specifics of the content of the procedural status of a person in respect of whom proceedings are being conducted on the application of compulsory medical measures, and argues that such elements as procedural duties and legal responsibility of a participant in criminal procedural legal relations are not included in the criminal procedural status of a person suffering from a mental disorder. It is noted that the problem of balancing the rights and obligations of participants in the criminal process is emerging in this regard. The author suggests filling this gap with the duties of the legal representative of the person against whom the proceedings on the application of compulsory medical measures are being conducted.

A descriptive study of fratricide in tunisia

IntroductionViolence between brothers and / or sisters is one of the most important forms of violence within families. To understand homicides between them, the hypothesis of rivalry has been put forward. But how is it really in reality?ObjectivesTo construct both the clinical and medicolegal profile of perpetrators of fratricide and sororicide.MethodsThis is a retrospective study of 12 cases of fratricide, which were examined in the context of criminal psychiatric expertise in the psychiatry department of Hedi Chaker University Hospital in Sfax (Tunisia), between January 2002 and December 2018.ResultsThe mean age of offenders was 31.9 years; they were all male. Eight fratricide perpetrators were unmarried and had an irregular occupation. They had a psychiatric follow-up prior to homicide in 5 cases. Previous criminal records were noted in one third of the cases. Three perpetrators of fratricide were using psychoactive substances. History of violence against the victim was presented in 7/12 of cases, and the victim was younger than the perpetrator in 5 cases. Aggression was premeditated in 4 cases. The knife was the most used weapon (11/12). Seven offenders suffered from a major mental illness. The most common diagnosis was schizophrenia (6/12). The experts had concluded that 8 cases were in a state of insanity at the time of the offense.ConclusionsOur data indicates that fratricides are lack preparation and most often preceded by violence. It seems to be important to do other researches to assess psychopathology and assess risk factors for fratricide.

НЕКОТОРЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ ИСПОЛНЕНИЯ СУДЕБНОГО РЕШЕНИЯ О НАЗНАЧЕНИИ ПРИНУДИТЕЛЬНЫХ МЕР МЕДИЦИНСКОГО ХАРАКТЕРА

Compulsory measures of a medical nature are regulated by both criminal, procedural and penal legislation, though not to the full extent. In particular, many problems arise immediately after a court decision has been made in relation to a person who has committed a crime in a state of insanity, as well as on the appointment of these measures, and at the stage of a court decision execution. First of all, it is necessary to note the problem of the legal regime for the application of a preventive measure in the form of taking into and keeping in custody, as well as other procedural coercion measures when the decision on the appointment of compulsory medical measures to persons awaiting referral to a medical organization has been made. The application of compulsory procedural measures to the mentally ill seems unreasonable, bearing in mind the purposes of compulsory medical measures, non-counting the time of compulsory medical measures within the term of imprisonment, loss of the indictment period due to the termination of the criminal case. The application of procedural coercion by courts after the termination of a criminal case and appointment of compulsory medical measures against the persons waiting to be sent to a medical institution appear out of the objective need to control the behavior of such persons for a certain period. In this regard, there appears a problem of a time interval between a decision on the appointment of compulsory medical measures and the date when the person is delivered to the medical institution. It seems possible to solve this problem, if we eliminate the 5-day period when a copy of the court resolution is sent to the medical institution and make it possible for a medical institution to make a decision on accepting and treatment of the person in absentia. Another important problem is a competent authority to ensure the delivery of people for compulsory treatment. In practice, due to the incorrect application of the criminal procedure law, there is no clear idea of who should bring a person for compulsory treatment. Meanwhile, since compulsory medical measures are aimed at curing, improving the mental state of mentally ill people as well as preventing them from committing new crimes, health authorities seem to be the most suitable for this role. It seems possible to authorize the security service of psychiatric hospitals operating on the basis of the Federal Law “On ensuring the protection of psychiatric hospitals (hospitals) of a specialized type with intensive supervision” to deliver such persons to medical institutions, without involving criminal procedural forces and means, which seems to take into account the status and mental health of the persons as well as their rights and freedoms.

Виды уголовно-противоправных деяний

The article examines criminal acts, with which the law associates certain criminal legal consequences. The aim of the article is to substantiate the identification of various criminal acts and show their specificity in comparison with crimes. The research is based on the domestic criminal legislation, materials of judicial practice and the legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany. The research methods are: the method of comparative law, which allowed comparing the provisions about criminal offenses in the 1960 Criminal Code of the RSFSR and in the 1996 Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code of Germany; the method of document analysis, which made it possible to analyze the judicial practice and proposals of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on the introduction of provisions on criminal offences in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation; the formal-logical method that made it possible to analyze the content of the norms of the Criminal Code about criminal acts. The article concludes that, in addition to crimes, criminal acts should include: a criminal offence, which entails criminal liability in the form of replacing punishment with a more severe one (fine, compulsory labor, correctional labor, restriction of freedom as the main type of punishment, forced labor) or criminal liability in the form of the cancellation of any type of probation (suspended sentence, parole, deferred sentence, deferred sentence for drug addicts); a minor act; socially dangerous behavior of persons who are not subjects of a crime due to their minor age or insanity; innocent infliction of harm. The article shows the specificity of a misdemeanour, consisting in the fact that this act is not socially dangerous, does not contain signs of a crime, violates the liability of the convicted person to be subject to limitations arising from the court-appointed punishment or type of probation (suspended sentence, parole, deferred sentence, deferred sentence for drug addicts). It is substantiated that a minor act should be referred to circumstances that exclude the criminality of an act due to the absence of public danger, an essential feature of a crime. It is argued that acts, provided for by the Special Part of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, committed in a state of insanity and entailing compulsory medical measures, should not be subject to criminal law. The article criticizes the judicial practice of a broad interpretation of the commission of a crime by a group of persons, according to which it is not only a co-execution, but also any execution of the objective side of the crime by several persons, of which only one can be the perpetrator. It is argued that causing harm due to the non-compliance of the psychophysiological qualities of a person with the requirements of an extreme situation does not apply to innocent infliction of harm.

Criminal law measures and criminal liability: scientific discussion and search for solutions

The paper analyzes the content of scientific discourse on the relationship between criminal liability and criminal law measures and proves that the corresponding concepts are not subordinate and interchangeable. Criminal law measures are defined as legal means and normative structures established by law, which the state uses to respond to a crime. Criminal liability is defined as a real phenomenon, a special combination of criminal law measures implemented on the basis of a court sentence. The common feature of criminal liability and criminal law measures is that they can only be applied in case of commission of a crime. In this regard, measures imposed on persons who have committed a socially dangerous act before reaching the age of criminal liability or in a state of insanity should be excluded from the list of measures of a criminal legal nature. The difference between liability and criminal law measures is that liability requires official recognition of a person guilty of committing a crime, while criminal law measures can also be applied in the absence of a decision on guilt, when a person is exempt from criminal liability. Based on this, all criminal law measures are divided into two groups: a) measures applied outside the scope of liability, and b) measures that are part of liability. We give the nomenclature of each of them and identify promising opportunities for their expansion. In particular, the list of criminal law measures may be supplemented with community service, limited paid work, and administrative supervision. Keywords: criminal liability; measures of a criminal-legal nature; criminal punishment; conditional conviction; criminal record; administrative supervision; criminal-legal attitude.

LEGAL ASSESSMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY WHILE OUTPATIENT FORENSIC MEDICINE EXAMINATION OF INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED PEOPLE

While legal capacity emerges at the moment of a person birth and he as a natural person and legal entity possesses it throughout all his life, capability is an institution with much more nuanced nature. Not all natural persons are endowed with capability, what is more a person may lack or be deprived of capability. However, it should be stressed that people with limited capability continue to live in society, to participate in legal proceedings when it is possible, as well as to commit crimes, that is their legal status differs from actual. Evaluation of acts competence committed by persons with limited capability plays an important role both in civil and criminal proceedings. In civil proceedings the issue as to transaction legal effect has to be resolved, in criminal proceedings the issues as to a person’s responsibility committed a crime and, accordingly, as to his penalty have to be addressed.
 The article is devoted to the role of outpatient forensic medicine examination while assessing the acts committed by persons with limited capability and in a state of insanity.

Lifetime History of Suicide Attempts among Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity State Hospital Inpatients: The Roles of past Harmful Substance Use and Current Social Support

This study tested current perceived social support (CPSS) as a moderator of the relation between previous substance use (PSU) and lifetime suicide attempt (SA) history among 200 NGRI inpatients. Results indicated no significant CPSS main effect. PSU was associated with greater odds of multiple prior lifetime SA. Moderation indicated those low in PSU but high in CPSS were least likely to report multiple prior lifetime SA. Conversely, NGRI inpatients with high CPSS and high PSU were most likely to report multiple lifetime SA. Our study suggests CPSS and PSU assessments may inform suicide risk assessments and interventions among NGRI inpatients.

Differentiation of a Criminal Procedural form as a Condition of Development of Modern Legislation

The purpose of the article is to study the current state of differentiation of a criminal procedural form as one of the conditions of legislation development. To this end, the tasks are as follows: 1) to analyze scientific periodicals devoted to the problem of definition of the concept of "procedural form" and "differentiation of procedural form"; 2) to distinguish the differentiated forms of pre-trial investigation and judicial proceedings on the basis of a systematic examination of the current criminal procedural legislation. While writing the article, a set of general scientific and special methods of scientific knowledge was used, namely: historical-legal, dialectical, formal-legal and system-structural method. The interrelated application of these methods led to the science-based conclusions and suggestions. The article presents scientific points of view regarding the interpretation of the concept of "criminal procedural form" and "differentiation of procedural form", which made it possible to state the lack of unity of their understanding. Legal understanding of the essence of criminal procedural form is not only theoretical, but also applied, because: first, it is the key to achieve the tasks of criminal proceedings; secondly, it guarantees the implementation of the principles of criminal proceedings and respect for the rights of the participants in the proceedings; third, its violation leads to the inadmissibility of evidence. In the context of the development of criminal procedural legislation differentiated forms of pre-trial investigation and judicial proceedings are of great importance. The latter also provide an additional guarantee for a particular category of persons (e.g. juveniles, persons who have committed a socially dangerous act in the state of insanity, etc.). Based on an analysis of the CPC of Ukraine, particular and special differentiated forms of pre-trial investigation and court proceedings are distinguished.

Examining violence among Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity state hospital inpatients across multiple time points: the roles of criminogenic risk factors and psychiatric symptoms.

Institutional violence in state hospitals is a public health problem that has been severely understudied. Given the personal (ie, staff and patients) and fiscal harms associated with institutional violence, more research into contributing factors for violence is needed. The overarching aim of this study then was to examine associations among psychiatric symptoms, criminal risk factors, and institutional violence. Participants were 200 male, female, and transgender forensic mental health inpatients adjudicated Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity and committed to the California Department of State Hospitals. Participants completed a psychiatric symptom measure, and measures of and associated with criminal risk. Institutional violence was recorded from file review and includes physical violence toward staff or patients for 6-months prior to and post patient participation in this study. After adjusting for previous institutional violence, results indicated that psychiatric symptoms were not associated with follow-up institutional violence; however, criminal risk was associated with follow-up institutional violence. Unexpectedly, 2 aspects of criminal risk, antisocial cognitions and associates, were not associated with follow-up institutional violence after adjusting for previous institutional violence. Results also provided a tentative cutoff score on the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire for predicting follow-up institutional violence. These results have important implications for treating and managing patients at risk for institutional violence, including the need to assess criminogenic risk and leverage treatments that target these risk factors as a best practice approach.

Procedural Legal Personality of the Subject of a Crime

The article examines the conformity and interaction of the actual and procedural statuses of criminal procedure participants within the framework of the cross-cutting mechanism of criminal law regulation. The author concludes that standing arises at the time of the actual emergence of the ability to exercise procedural rights and bear the relevant duties, since the procedural status of a person is established on the basis of its actual position and is only drawn up by a procedural decision, but is not formed by it. The specifics of the person’s sanity at various stages of criminal procedure directly affects his procedural capacity. If a person has committed an act prohibited by criminal law in a state of insanity or he has a mental disorder after committing a crime, making it impossible to impose a sentence or execute it, then such a participant in criminal proceedings may be declared procedurally incompetent if his mental state does not allow him to exercise procedural rights, under Articles 46 and 47 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (part 1 of Article 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), or participate in a court hearing (part 1 of Article 441 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). In this case, the law enforcer every time when addressing this issue should resort to the help of experts involved in forensic psychiatric examination, and, if necessary, request a medical conclusion of a psychiatric hospital. Therefore, it would be wrong to assume that this participant in criminal proceedings is always procedurally incapable, since the criminal law aspect of a person’s irresponsibility is not always of legal importance in determining procedural capacity.

Circumstances excluding criminal liability under the criminal law of the Muslim countries

In Islamic criminal law there are no institutions the general part, in that connection, it shared the list of circumstances that exclude the criminality of an Act, not developed. In Islamic criminal law, such circumstances, according to the analysis of some of his sources are not reaching the age of responsibility, a State of insanity, mislead, commit a crime under duress, self-defense, urgency, as well as remorse. The article is devoted to the characterization of the circumstances excluding criminal liability under the criminal law of the Muslim countries professing the Anglo-Saxon system of law. Main purpose is to form an idea of the role the circumstances excluding criminal liability under the criminal law of the Muslim countries professing the Anglo-Saxon legal system in modern conditions based on foreign legal literature, and an analysis of the criminal law. The hallmark of Muslim law is a priority of the religious laws of Islam, which govern all aspects of the life of Muslims. The question of the role of the circumstances excluding criminal liability under the criminal law of the Muslim countries professing the Anglo-Saxon legal system in modern conditions is covered in Islamic law with the aim of precise qualification of perfect a criminal offence, with a view to establishing the legality of the Act.

Psychiatric symptom severity, criminal risk, and suicidal ideation and attempts among not guilty by reason of insanity state hospital inpatients.

Individuals forensically committed to a state hospital are at an increased risk of suicide; however, there is extremely limited research examining suicide risk estimates and risk factors among inpatients deemed not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). This study aimed to determine (a) rates of suicidal ideation history, suicide attempt history, and current distress due to suicidal ideation, and (b) the associations between psychiatric symptom severity, criminal risk factors, and suicide risk. NGRI inpatients (n = 207) from 2 state hospitals were administered assessments of psychiatric symptom severity and criminal risk factors (i.e., criminal tendencies and antisocial personality traits). Results indicated 46.4% of participants reported at least 1 previous suicide attempt, 58% reported previous suicidal ideation, and 10.1% reported some level of current distress due to suicidal ideation. Binary logistic regression results indicated psychiatric symptom severity, not criminal tendencies or antisocial personality traits, was associated with a greater likelihood of current distress due to suicidal ideation. There was a significant interaction between criminal tendencies and antisocial personality, which indicated that individuals higher in criminal tendencies and lower in antisocial personality traits are predicted to have the greatest probability of reporting current distress due to suicidal ideation. Additionally, psychiatric symptom severity and antisocial personality traits were associated with a greater likelihood of a suicide attempt history, whereas criminal tendencies were associated with a decreased likelihood. Clinical implications are discussed, particularly the need for suicide risk assessments and management to consider both psychiatric symptoms and criminal risk factors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Orchids in the era of Grigory von Langsdorff: two golden decades in the history of the botanical exploration of Brazil (1813–1830)

The figure of Grigory Ivanovich von Langsdorff was largely neglected by the scientific literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. German-born von Langsdorff was consul of the Russian Empire in Rio de Janeiro. His activities in Brazil from 1813 to 1830 are here described, a time during which his house in Rio and his famous fazenda Mandiocca became the center of scientific activity and the point of attraction for European travellers and naturalists who flocked to Brazil after its frontiers were opened to foreigners in 1808 by King Joao VI of Portugal. Wilhelm Freyreiss, Friedrich Sellow, Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied, Augustin de Saint-Hilaire, Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, Johann Baptist von Spix, Giuseppe Raddi, Johann Baptist Emanuel Pohl, and Ludwig Riedel are among those who explored Brazil impulsed by von Langsdorff and often under his patronage. Their journeys in Brazil culminated in von Langsdorff’s ill-fated expedition to the interior of Brazil between 1822 and 1829, while the epilogue is marked by Langsdorff’s return to Germany, in a state of insanity and no longer able to publish the results of his life-long scientific efforts.