Psychopathy in South African criminal case law between 1947 and 1999: an exploration of the relationship between psychology and law
Master Thesis
2012
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Journal Title
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Department
Faculty
License
Series
Abstract
This study drew on South African criminal case reports containing judicial pronouncements on psychopathy between 1947 and 1999 to explore the historical relationship between psychology and the law. In criminal law, where mental illness is alleged, the issue of responsibility arises. During the period of the study, there were important legal developments in the criminal law relating to criminal responsibility, including the formulation of a statutory test for capacity in 1977 that did away with the M’Naghten Rules and irresistible impulse principle, ... Diminished responsibility was also entrenched in the criminal law in the same Act. Psychopathy provided an interesting case study as, in terms of legal thinking, a diagnosis may indicate pathology but is not of a degree that it necessarily follows that it would be unreasonable to assign blame in law.
Description
Includes bibliographical references.
Keywords
Reference:
Silkstone, C. 2012. Psychopathy in South African criminal case law between 1947 and 1999: an exploration of the relationship between psychology and law. University of Cape Town.