
The defence of insanity makes frequent appearances in crime fiction and film. It is also the only common law exception to the Woolmington v DPP thread on presumption of innocence, from the famous case at [1935] AC 462.
Parsons makes the case for extending the thread, as ‘it seems morally wrong to impose a legal burden of proof on accused persons in respect of both limbs where they have an extremely limited grasp of reality’.