The
irresistible impulse (a term of
jurisprudence) refers to a
defense by
excuse, in this case some sort of
insanity; in which, the defendant argues that they should not be held
criminally liable for
actions which broke the
law, because they couldn't control their actions. In
1994,
Lorena Bobbitt was found not guilty of a crime, when her defense argued that an irresistible impulse led her to cut off her
husband's
penis. The
California Penal Code[?] states (
2002), "The defense of diminished capacity is hereby abolished...there shall be no defense of...
diminished responsibility or
irresistible impulse..."