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How liable is someone for their behaviour? I don't really know the answer. There have been some interesting precedents reported in the news lately. Generally people in a psychotic episode are not held criminally responsible for their behaviour. In Ontario they are NCR (not criminally responsible). Some are so sick they are not considered capable of standing trial.
But if someone in a psychotic episode kills someone, they are not let out of custody per se. They are sent to a forensic psychiatric bed, and held there with annual reviews to determine if they can safely be discharged to live in the community. If they don't respond to treatment, and if they refuse medication, they may never be let out. The Review Board is very conservative. They don't take any chances with an individual that might commit another crime. It would not be in the public interest, even if the person was not criminally responsible per se for the original crime. Recently there was a case in the Supreme Court about a man who raped a woman while he was drunk. He was let off because he had no memory of the event and was technically not criminally responsible. He had blacked out and had no idea what he had done. The case raised a public furor, and new laws were quickly passed to patch the legal loophole. In a sense the man was responsible for the amount of alcohol he consumed, and whether or not he blacked out. At least that was the public sentiment. An alcoholic though would not be able to control the amount they drank. That is why there is a psychiatric condition called alcoholism. They can't stop drinking. But the public and the legislators did not refer to experts on addiction when they created these new laws on personal responsibility. They just saw a woman raped and a man escaping justice. In another recent case a young man with schizophrenia and a crack cocaine habit, pushed a young woman in front of a speeding subway. He had just been kicked out of a half way house and was not taking his medication. Was he responsible? I talked with one of the psychiatrists who had been called as a consultant and she thought he was, because he had intent, and planning in his actions. He wanted to kill a young beautiful woman because she had everything he would never have, because she would never even give him the time of day. It was out of hatred that he killed her. So he was tried for murder, and is now in prison. I think he was not criminally responsible because I don't think he would have committed the crime if he had been receiving medical attention, essentially if he was taking his medication. I think he should be in a forensic psychiatric bed where he would get the treatment and education he needs to live in the community. Go To Page: 1 2
The copyright of the article Personal Accountability in Schizophrenia is owned by Ian Chovil. Permission to republish Personal Accountability in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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