ABSTRACT
English law’s first concession to the Scottish practice of reducing murder to manslaughter on evidence of mental unsoundness, was the introduction of the partial defence of infanticide in 1922. Although a feature of ancient Irish and Germanic law, Roman law and Dutch law of the middle ages, diminished responsibility is relatively novel in English law. As stated, the English defence of diminished responsibility has its roots in Scottish law where it was developed in order to avoid the consequences of the death penalty. Mitigation of punishment because of partial insanity was in stark contrast to the English law at this time, of which Hale stated that “this partial insanity seems not to excuse them in the committing of any offence for its matter capital”. Throughout the nineteenth century determined efforts were made to circumvent the death penalty in cases of child-murder by women, with the last execution for this crime occurring in 1849.
