The court determined that Godfrey could not be held responsible for his crime because he did not know that his actions were wrong. What would be the governing rule in such a case?

Question

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The M'Naghten Rule, also known as the "right-wrong" rule, is a legal test used in determining whether a criminal defendant can be held criminally responsible for an offense. It states that a defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity if at the time of the crime, they did not know the nature and quality of their actions or if they did know, they did not understand what they were doing was wrong. Therefore, in the given scenario, the governing rule would be the M'Naghten Rule as Godfrey did not know that his actions were wrong, thus he would be deemed not guilty by reason of insanity.

The Court Determined That Godfrey Could Not Be Held Responsible