Richard Smith, a "smarmy" crown attorney, a bit of a "ham". Barbara Williams as Mrs. Devlin, Mark Devlin's mother Hrant Alianak as Dr. Gregarin Genre and themes A courtroom drama, By Reason of Insanity is an exploration of the ethics and social consequences of the "humane and enlightened" insanity plea, which fell under Section 16 (2) of the Criminal Code. At the time the film was made, s. 16(2) stated: "a person is insane when he ... has a disease of the mind to an extent that renders him incapable of appreciating the nature or quality of the act." Questioning the "market" of expert witnesses and the adversarial system itself, the film asks who is served by the insanity defence. For Donald Shebib, the question of legal responsibility for one's actions becomes a question of whether "anyone is morally responsible for anything," and then "Is there morality?" and "Is there a God?" Production Background For the Record was intended as a series of dramas which would take an honest look at problems in Canadian society, among them many about mental illness and "flawed social institutions". Gail Henley remarked in 1985 that For the Record dramas were "information laden" when compared to their more emotional American counterparts and emphasises the importance of research and documentation for the series.<ref name="Henley">{{cite journal |last1=Henley |first1=Gail |title=On the record: For the Record'''s 10 distinctive years. |journal=Cinema Canada |date=April 1985 |pages=18–21 |url=http://cinemacanada.athabascau.ca/index.php/cinema/article/download/2808/2851. |access-date=4 July 2020}}</ref> WritingBy Reason of Insanity was the first of two dramas directed by Donald Shebib for the series. Shebib said he was not sure how the audience would respond to the "tricky subject matter," since it was not known whose side the audience would take: "I felt that one of the problems with the script was that it didn't make clear where sympathies should lie. Eventually, I decided I may as well stay on the tightrope and not come down on one side or another." Casting and filming In casting John Wildman as Mark Devlin, Shebib had been determined to cast "in a soft way, avoiding the stereotype of the drooling homicidal maniac", while for Jane Dexter he wanted someone cool and professional, "just someone doing a job."By Reason of Insanity was filmed in Toronto over a two-week period in late October 1981. The last twenty minutes of the film take place in a courtroom, and as Shebib related: "The thing the