Man acquitted of murder because he was sleepwalking

shamrock_uk · 03-18-2005, 03:15 PM

Last post I promise!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4362081.stm

This is amazing, and British legal history as well. Having never sleepwalked myself I'm not quite sure what to think of it - wouldn't the screaming wake you up?

pritchke · 03-18-2005, 04:48 PM

No, my sister has or had a tendency to sleep walk. You could slap her across the face and she would not wake up. She would respond with some incoherent zombie sounds but remember nothing the next morning, she could walk to the kitchen perfectly with her eyes closed and get a drink not remember anything the next morning. Ask her to do that with her eyes closed when awake she would not do so well. Subconscious is a funny thing. As for the case I don't know. did they try a lie detector test? If he was sleep walking he should not remember anything. If he did it he should be put away. I don't think the law distinguishes between murders who sleep walk and those that don't sleep walk. I guess he could get a reduced sentence or help if it is true but not get of scott free as he did it, as he tends to kill when he sleep walks makes him dangerous. Ignorance is not an excuse in terms of breaking the law.

[ 03-18-2005, 04:51 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

shamrock_uk · 03-18-2005, 05:04 PM

Ah, interesting, thanks!

As for lie detector tests, we don't use them in the UK as they're rather unreliable. Damn sure I wouldn't want my fate decided by one!

Morgeruat · 03-21-2005, 09:28 AM

The courts can't rely on them here either, for similar reasons, They can be used IIRC, but are not admitable as evidence, and so rarely are.

This case is interesting, reminds me of the book Terminal Man by Michael Crichton. He may not have been aware of it, but that doesn't mean he should be 1 free to go, 2 confined for a crime he has no knowledge of, and 3 free of making reparations to the family of the victim.

Some sort of restraint system when he sleeps could be the answer, to prevent him from gettings up and moving about, or a system of locks on the door that he couldn't open (although that would probably constitute a fire hazard)... I'm not sure what the answer is, and I seriously doubt it's a frequent enough occurance to warrant a new set of laws. let the courts decide, that's what we pay them for (then we can yell when we don't like the answer

)

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03-18-2005, 03:15 PM	#1
shamrock_uk Dracolich Join Date: January 24, 2004 Location: UK Age: 41 Posts: 3,092	Last post I promise! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4362081.stm This is amazing, and British legal history as well. Having never sleepwalked myself I'm not quite sure what to think of it - wouldn't the screaming wake you up?

03-18-2005, 04:48 PM	#2
pritchke Bastet - Egyptian Cat Goddess Join Date: September 5, 2001 Location: Calgary, AB Age: 49 Posts: 3,491	No, my sister has or had a tendency to sleep walk. You could slap her across the face and she would not wake up. She would respond with some incoherent zombie sounds but remember nothing the next morning, she could walk to the kitchen perfectly with her eyes closed and get a drink not remember anything the next morning. Ask her to do that with her eyes closed when awake she would not do so well. Subconscious is a funny thing. As for the case I don't know. did they try a lie detector test? If he was sleep walking he should not remember anything. If he did it he should be put away. I don't think the law distinguishes between murders who sleep walk and those that don't sleep walk. I guess he could get a reduced sentence or help if it is true but not get of scott free as he did it, as he tends to kill when he sleep walks makes him dangerous. Ignorance is not an excuse in terms of breaking the law. [ 03-18-2005, 04:51 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

03-18-2005, 05:04 PM	#3
shamrock_uk Dracolich Join Date: January 24, 2004 Location: UK Age: 41 Posts: 3,092	Ah, interesting, thanks! As for lie detector tests, we don't use them in the UK as they're rather unreliable. Damn sure I wouldn't want my fate decided by one!

03-21-2005, 09:28 AM	#4
Morgeruat Jack Burton Join Date: October 16, 2001 Location: PA Age: 43 Posts: 5,421	The courts can't rely on them here either, for similar reasons, They can be used IIRC, but are not admitable as evidence, and so rarely are. This case is interesting, reminds me of the book Terminal Man by Michael Crichton. He may not have been aware of it, but that doesn't mean he should be 1 free to go, 2 confined for a crime he has no knowledge of, and 3 free of making reparations to the family of the victim. Some sort of restraint system when he sleeps could be the answer, to prevent him from gettings up and moving about, or a system of locks on the door that he couldn't open (although that would probably constitute a fire hazard)... I'm not sure what the answer is, and I seriously doubt it's a frequent enough occurance to warrant a new set of laws. let the courts decide, that's what we pay them for (then we can yell when we don't like the answer )

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