The President's patient

Abstract

Abstract provided by author:

This paper is aimed primarily at a critical overview of the insanity defence and related matters. Included herein is an evaluation of the present facilities within Namibia relating to the rehabilitation of the criminally insane offender. Comparative studies have been conducted with various jurisdictions, including the United States of America and South Africa. The general overview includes a historical perspective on the defence, developments in various jurisdictions, the concept of criminal responsibility, diminished criminal responsibility, and other maters incidental hereto. Various interviews were conducted with psychologists and psychiatrists; and the paper aims to disclose the methods employed in evaluating the criminally insane, steps at rehabilitation and offers a psychological perspective on the law. The general nature of the topic vitiates any attempt at arriving at any definite conclusion and serves exclusively as a critical evaluation, attempting to highlight a definite area of concern in Namibian jurisprudence. Not all aspects of the insanity defence have, accordingly, been canvassed herein