On the definition of the criminally insane, the M'naghten rules were the common method of testing used to determine insanity. These rules were established in Britain after the 1843 case of Daniel M’naghten, in which he murdered the prime minister’s secretary in an attempt to murder the prime minister himself, Edward Drummond. The M’naghten rules provide a general set of questions in discerning the defendant’s sanity, and are: “was the defendant aware of what they were doing?” and, if answered yes, “do they realize that what they committed was unjust?” However, these rules concern, more so, the physical quality rather than the moral quality of the act. In many instances, patients may acknowledge their crime as nefarious, but remain apathetic. In posing a challenge to the M’naghten rules, the Durham rules, constructed in Durham v. U.S., recognize the moral aspect in regards to the crime. They proposed that as long as it can be proven that the defendant committed the act as a cause of mental disease/defect, they are not criminally responsible. This is what should have been the case in the trial of Perry Smith. For Perry Smith’s mental instability should have provided a substantial amount of justification for the attenuation of the charges he faced. However, due to the use of the the M’naghten rules in his trial, Perry Smith was held fully responsible, criminally and mentally, and sentenced to execution by hanging.
Perry Smith detailed his life, in writing an autobiographical statement to Dr. Jones, his psychiatrist (Capote 273). In this statement, Perry speaks of many events in his life that certainly contributed to his later demise. This encompassed: beatings from his father, a divorce, an alcoholic mother, detention houses,...
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Capote, Truman. "IV: The Corner." In Cold Blood. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1993. 273-76. Print.
Capote, Truman. "IV: The Corner." In Cold Blood. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1993. 290-91. Print.
Capote, Truman. "IV: The Corner." In Cold Blood. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall, 1993. 296-98. Print.
Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2013). Long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau. https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences.pdf#page=4&view=Psychological Consequences
"Does Child Abuse Cause Crime?" Does Child Abuse Cause Crime? N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. http://www.nber.org/digest/jan07/w12171.html
"“WRONG” IN THE M'NAUGHTEN RULES." - Morris. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2013. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1953.tb02133.x/abstract
Six years later Truman Capote wrote a very detailed book about the whole case, from the
Imagine staring at a breathtaking landscape, where it feels like time could go on forever. Now, imagine being late for an important event where it feels like the clock will not stop ticking and the numbers move with every glance. With the sentiments of these two emotions in mind, Capote exemplifies both of the essences of these situations throughout In Cold Blood through his use of syntax. He can take the reader through his long and drawn-out syntax to describe settings or characters extensively, creating a timeless and descriptive scene; however, he also creates a change of pace at the climactic moments of the book by modifying his sentences to become shorter. Therefore, the syntax that Truman Capote uses throughout In Cold Blood is used to change the tone and pace of the story to help elevate the significance of the plot.
Capote's structure in In Cold Blood is a subject that deserves discussion. The book is told from two alternating perspectives, that of the Clutter family who are the victims, and that of the two murderers, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. The different perspectives allow the reader to relive both sides of the story; Capote presents them without bias. Capote masterfully utilizes the third person omniscient point of view to express the two perspectives. The non-chronological sequencing of some events emphasizes key scenes.
"The New Republic Faces a New Century." American Passages. 4th ed. Vol. 1. N.P.: Ayers 179, n.d. 179. Print
14. David Oshinksy, A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (New York: The Free Press, 1983), passim.
"A Separate Peace." Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Vol. 3. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp., 1993.
In the novel, In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, Capote uses literary devices to describe many characters. One character that is described thoroughly is the main investigator Alvin Dewey.
Through the course of the book, Capote uses vivid descriptions to his advantage in order to place emphasis on more noteworthy parts of the story. Capote’s choice of imagery characterizes Perry as a person and gives an idea to who he is. Perry’s life prior to crime was normal for awhile, until his family situation crumbled: “in the ring, a lean Cherokee girl rode a wild horse, a ‘bucking bronc,’ and her loosened hair whipped back and forth, flew about like a flamenco dancer’s. Her name was Flo Buckskin, and she was a professional rodeo performer, a ‘champion bronc-rider.’ So was her husband, Tex John Smith; it was while touring the Western rodeo circuit that the handsome Indian girl and the homely-handsome Irish cowboy had met, married, and had the four children sitting in the grandstand. (And Perry could remember many another rodeo spectacle--see again his father skipping inside a circle of spinning lassos, or his mother, with silver and turquoise bangles jangling on her wrists, trick-riding at a desperado speed that thrilled her youngest child and caused crowds in towns from Texas to Oregon to ‘stand up and clap.’)” Perry’s troubles after his parents separation may very well have contributed to his becoming a murderer later on down the road. The abrupt change in his life at such a young age, clearly had a lasting impact on him and his lifestyle. His past altered the way he thought and the type of person he was. Capote quotes,
Eric Foner, The Story of American Freedom, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company Ltd., 1999), 296.
...ion...” (“Truman” 84). Capote creates a story that was based on true events while being able to evoke emotions out of the readers. The use of an objective writing style was a fundamental part in adding to the garnering of emotions to the story as well. Through In Cold Blood, Capote alerts the audience to “...Ambiguities of the American legal system and capital punishment” (“Truman” 84), stating that in the court of law in America there are some flaws and laws that are obscure in their purpose that one should be weary about. Capote wrote In Cold Blood in order to convey the idea that whenever a person or a group of people is murdered, vengeance is always sought upon the murderers. In a place where everyone knows everyone, it is hard for the community to adjust to the losses without proper compensation, and sometimes the only way is through punishing those by death.
George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shi, America: A Narrative History, Ninth Edition, Volume One, (New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013), 504.
He grew up in a different environment with a broken family with no apparent dreams. As a young boy his parents separated and he was forced to go with his mother. He later ran away to be with his father who turned him down and ended up being abandoned by his family completely. He then came to stay at a catholic orphanage, where he was abused by nuns and caregivers. His father finally decided to take him into his care and together they got away and traveled, ending his education before passing the third grade which bothered him as he became older. Perry joined the marines and army, then came back to relocate his father. Him and his father had a breakthrough over starvation, leaving Perry with no one else to turn to and therefore getting involved in committing crimes. Once he got caught and jailed, his mother had died and his brother and sister had both committed suicide. By all his experiences we can say Perry definitely lived a different life and his family portrayal was very different from the Clutters. After so much abandonment and abuse, we can understand why he almost feels nothing and how growing up has affected him. The American Dream for Perry might not have been a “perfect family” but may have been to find something with order, and control. The dream Perry’s family would be focused on is reaching a decent life as their past has been
23. Tad Tuleja, American History in 100 Nutshells (New York: Fawcett Columbine Books, 1992), 164.
Gerald Clarke, ed. Too Brief a Treat: The Letters of Truman Capote. New York: Random House,
Insanity, automatism and diminished responsibility all play a significant role in cases where the defendant’s mind is abnormal while committing a crime. The definition of abnormal will be reviewed in relationship to each defence. In order to identify how these three defences compare and contrast, it is first important to understand their definition and application. The appropriate defence will be used once the facts of the cases have been distinguished and they meet the legal tests. The legal test of insanity is set out in M’Naghten’s Case: “to establish a defence…of insanity it must be clearly proved that, at the time of committing the act, the party accused was labouring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing, or if he did know it, that he did not know he was doing what was wrong.” To be specific, the defect of reason arises when the defendant is incapable of exercising normal reasoning. The defect of reason requires instability in reasoning rather than a failure to exercise it at a time when exercise of reason is possible. In the case of R v Clarke, the defendant was clinically depressed and in a moment of absent-mindedness, stole items from a supermarket...