Chronological Outline
| Date | Events and publications | Mute by visitation of God (MVG) | Competence to stand trial or fitness to plead (FTP) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1200 | Jury trials replace trial by “ordeal” | ||
| Bracton’s On the Laws and Customs of England23 | Detention by order of the king in cases of homicide in mental illness | ||
| 1300 | MVG distinguished from mute of malice | ||
| Descriptions appear of homicide in mental illness without prosecution | |||
| 1400 | |||
| 1500 | Harsh imprisonment evolves into peine, forte et dure (PFD) | ||
| Papal authority in England abolished by Henry VIII | Somervile trial delayed by questions concerning the genuineness of his “lunacy”24 | ||
| 1600 | |||
| Hale’s Law Commission recommends abolition of PFD | |||
| Hale’s History of the Pleas of the Crown25 | |||
| 1700 | Hawkins’ Treatise of the Pleas of the Crown26 | ||
| Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Law of England27 | Felony and Piracy Act abolishes PFD28 | Ogle not “fit to take his trial”29 | |
| Declaration of Independence | Frith “not … capable” to make his defense30 | ||
| 1800 | |||
| Stephen’s A History of the Criminal Law of England16 | Criminal Law Act requires insertion of “not guilty” in cases of refusal to plead31 | Dyson criterion “conduct her defense with discretion”32 | |
| Pritchard trial generates criteria for FTP33 |