Irresistible Impulse Rule

In American law, irresistible impulse rule is a criminal law concept which argues that the defendant is not guilty since he or she could not control his or her actions when the crime was committed.

For instance, in 1994, Lorena Bobbitt was acquitted when it was proven that her act of cutting off her husband’s penis was a reaction to long-term physical and psychological abuse. Prior the incident, she had been raped, sodomized, threatened, and battered by John Bobbitt. Lorena was even forced to abort her child. In English law, the irresistible impulse rule is only pleaded under the diminished responsibility defense which reduces the charge.