Hetty’s confession in Adam Bede fully showed her understanding and sanity when it came to her decision of infanticide. She might have regretted it and not fully understood the implications coming from it, but she knew when she put the baby down in the ‘little grave,’ that it most likely was not going to make it through the night. She attempted to convince herself that someone would come get it, but she understood the child would likely die. Unlike the situation in the M’Naughten case, Hetty obviously had full understanding and capability to realize how wrong and immoral her actions were. She knew what she did was wrong, as she ‘confessed’ to Dinah and God, which goes to show she is in a right state of mind.

While she technically could have pleaded not guilty because of insanity, the reality of it is that she was completely conscious of the decisions she was making. This is sort of where the idea of defendants being allowed to speak in the court room comes in. If Hetty was allowed to speak for herself, there would have been absolutely no chance of pleading not guilty, because the full confession was there and there was no sign of Hetty not understanding the situation and what she had done. She had premeditated the infanticide which goes to show control of decisions and that this was not the result of a rash and insane moment.

If this case took place after the M’Naughten case, Hetty would have been more likely to have gotten not guilty because of insanity. This could come from the want to commit suicide after or the immense regret that she felt as soon as she fully comprehended what had happened along with her ability to hear the baby crying even though she was a long ways away from the woods where she left it. They could have argued that Hetty was not in the right state of mind and if she had been, this whole situation would never have come to pass.

All in all, even with the possibility of Hetty’s case coming after the M’Naughten case, it is highly unlikely that she would have been able to get the insanity plea because she was conscious of her planning before hand and while she was doing it. She knew the possibility of the baby dying yet still proceeded anyway.