New verdicts of not guilty by reason of insanity and guilty with diminished responsibility will be introduced into law by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, before the end of the year.
According to sources in the Department of Justice the legislation will replace existing laws, some over 150 years old, and ensure that the circumstances surrounding the case of double murderer John Gallagher will not recur.
The legislation will contain a "completely new definition" of criminal insanity. A new verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity will replace guilty but insane, which in practice means there is no conviction. On a secondary level there will be a verdict of guilty with diminished responsibility, in which case a judge may impose a custodial sentence that would involve serving time at the Central Mental Hospital or in a prison.
A review group, to examine individual cases which come under this legislation, will be set up on a statutory basis. This group will advise the Minister on whether a person's detention should be continued and if so for how long, or if conditions should be attached to any proposed release. However, whether the person is released will remain the decision of the Minister.
A committee was set up to examine the Gallagher case after he claimed he had recovered his sanity and should be released. Gallagher returned to the courts in 1989 some months after he was found guilty but insane to make this claim. The committee, consisting of a general practitioner, a psychiatrist and a senior counsel, recommended that his continued detention was in both the public and private interest.
According to Department of Justice sources, the new legislation will be a halfway house between what currently exists in the Republic and the law in the UK. The British model could not be introduced here because it would be in conflict with a person's constitutional rights.
The British Mental Health Act (1983) deals explicitly with cases such as the Gallagher one. In the first instance, a British court will find a person either guilty or not guilty of a crime. If there is a guilty verdict the court will reconvene at a later date to consider the issue of diminished responsibility.
Those involved are sent to a high security hospital for a detailed assessment followed by treatment if necessary. A patient who makes progress may appear before a mental health review tribunal.