R v. McNaghten

R v. McNaghten is a landmark legal case from 1843 that established the "M'Naghten Rule," a key standard for determining legal insanity in criminal cases. The case involved Daniel M'Naghten, who killed a government official while suffering from severe mental illness. He believed he was acting in self-defense against a conspiracy. The court ruled that to be deemed insane and not guilty by reason of insanity, a person must not understand the nature of their actions or fail to recognize that what they did was wrong due to a mental disorder. This rule continues to influence legal definitions of insanity today.