PHIL 316 Chapter Notes - Chapter Dressler: Nigger, Argumentum A Fortiori, Diminished Responsibility
8 Jul 2016
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2:27 am: what are the two types of cases of diminished capacity which both. Dressler and morse both fully agree that cases of mens rea variant should be accepted as a full excuse. In this variant, an insane killer would be acquitted, as would be persons so provoked into a heat of passion that they totally and understandably lacked self-control. In these two cases, the defendants had no control over themselves and had psychological impairments that allowed for them to commit an action without intending it. The mens rea variant, however, is not really a defense at all. Evidence of a defendant"s mental condition creates a reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors regarding the presence of the statutorily required mens rea element of the crime. Partial responsibility is the true diminished capacity defense. This type of case of diminished capacity is the one that morse rejects entirely as an excuse.
