Duncan Who Killed Macbeth Essay

600 Words2 Pages

The scenario question asks whether Duncan who killed Macbeth would be found NCRMD. In the scenario Question, Duncan was a teller at a bank and was suffering from bipolar disorder. Duncan one day killed his bank manager believing that God had ordered him to kill his bank manager as he the agent of the devil. It is also stated that Duncan at the time of the homicide was in a manic state and was experiencing delusions. So scenario question asks whether Duncan who killed Macbeth would be found NCRMD. According to the Canadian criminal code Section 16(1), no person is criminally responsible for an act committed or an omission made while suffering from a mental disorder that rendered the person incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of the act or omission or of knowing that it was wrong. Canadian criminal code Section Section ( 2) states that mental disorder means a disease of the mind. So first it is important to have proof if the accused has a "mental disorder" and then it must be proved whether it drove the …show more content…

In this case, medically Duncan was suffering from bipolar disorder but it necessary for the court to prove if he has a mental disorder in legal terms. It is pretty clear from the question that Duncun's act was due to an "internal cause" and he is a continuing danger to the public. So this proves that Duncan is suffering from mental disorder in legal terms. But to conclude that Duncun is NCRMD it is compulsory to satisfy one of the branches of NCRMD. The statement "I suppose I shall be sent to prison for life" does satisfy the second branch of NCRMD "knowing that it is wrong." Duncun knew that he was legally wrong but his mental disorder lead him to commit the crime, as he had to obey the orders of God and because of his mental disorder it made him incapable of appreciating that his act was morally wrong in that

Open Document