NCJ Number
204165
Journal
Judicial Officers' Bulletin Volume: 15 Issue: 11 Dated: December 2003 Pages: 91-93
Date Published
December 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This examination of two Australian (New South Wales) homicide cases in which the author, a forensic psychiatrist, was involved as either a treating psychiatrist or expert witness considers the relevant law and its failure to produce outcomes that were therapeutic for the individual being tried or to ensure safety for the community; reforms are suggested.
Abstract
In one case, a man who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia shot to death his general practitioner during a medical consultation; the killing was done without any warning or logical motive. A manslaughter plea was accepted on the basis of diminished responsibility, and a custodial sentence was imposed. At the end of the sentence, the offender was released without any obligation to remain in treatment or to take the prescribed medicine. Based on the nature of the man's illness when left untreated, his risk of reoffending remains high. In the second case, the offender shot and killed a life-long friend while they were on a hunting trip. For at least a few years, the offender had symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, and recently had manifestations of severe symptoms, including the belief he was being persecuted. A defense of mental illness was supported with overwhelming evidence at trial; however, in the course of the trial, a plea of guilty to manslaughter was accepted and a custodial sentence was given without any treatment provisions. These cases reflect the provision in New South Wales law that allows persons who have committed homicide while mentally ill to be convicted of manslaughter rather than be found not guilty due to mental illness. The result is the imposition of a prison sentence that does not mandate psychiatric treatment. There should be a statutory provision that would prohibit individuals who have committed violent offenses as a direct result of mental illness from avoiding mandated psychiatric treatment. Further, New South Wales should establish a State Forensic Psychiatric Service that would identify mentally ill offenders early in the criminal justice process; assess at an early stage of case processing the relationship between the mental illness and the risk of reoffending; and incorporate treatment recommendations in sentencing in cases where mental illness is found to have been causal. 10 notes