ABSTRACT
Violent crime committed by people with a history of violence is somehow less shocking and less surprising than that committed by people without a history of violence. The argument for an innate predisposition to violence, which might be identified before the violence takes place, can be seen as misguided and something akin to the sci-fi film Minority Report. Here are numerous cases of people who have committed horrendous violent crimes and then insanity defences have been proposed to try to explain their actions. They have committed these acts because they have a mental incapacity and have been judged to be not responsible for their actions. There are many biological and psychological explanations of human behaviour: both normal and abnormal. In terms of abnormal behaviour the most widely used approach to the causes and treatment of mental illness in the West is the medical model that was developed largely by the medical profession, hence its name.
