The criminal liability of the mental patient in Jewish law (Halacha)

The legal status of the mentally impaired has been dealt with in Halachic literature since the third century. This article presents four Halachic viewpoints regarding the exemption of the mentally ill patient from legal responsibility in tort and criminal law: lack of mental awareness; lack of free will; lack of judgment; categorial personal status. Halachic legislations with regard to the liability of the insane predate the criteria as applied by modern psychiatry. The similarities between the Halachic and contemporary medicolegal approaches are presented.