(2) That expert medical testimony in such cases is largely
discounted by the layman.
(3) That in no class of cases are the verdicts of jurors so
apt to be influenced solely by emotion and prejudice, or to be
guided less by the law as laid down by the court.
(4) That a new definition of criminal responsibility is
necessary, based upon present knowledge of mental disease and
its causes.
(5) Lastly, that, as whatever definition may be adopted will
inevitably be difficult of application by an untutored lay
jury, our procedure should be so amended that they may be
relieved wherever possible of a task sufficiently difficult
for even the most experienced and expert alienists.
A classification of the different forms of insanity, based
upon its causes to which the case of any particular accused
might be relegated, such as has recently been urged by a
distinguished young neurologist, would not, with a few
exceptions, assist us in determining his responsibility. It
would be easy to say then, as now, that lunatics or maniacs
should not be held responsible for their acts, but we should
be left where we are at present in regard to all those shadowy
cases where the accused had insane, incomplete or imperfect
knowledge of what he was doing.
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