Automatism As A Defence In Law

EDM number 463 in 2009-10, proposed by Harry Cohen on 14/12/2009.
Categorised under the topic of Criminal law.

That this House considers that current UK law which provides sleepwalking as a defence for rape or murder to be grossly unreasonable following recent cases, including a not guilty verdict on a man who killed his wife; notes that the jury in this recent case were presented with the option of not guilty by way of insane automatism or not guilty due to non-insane automatism; further notes that sleep specialist Dr Chris Idzikowski is quoted in The Guardian on 5 December 2009 as saying that insane automatism is intrinsic to the person's behaviour, whilst non-insane automatism is used if a person has had a blow to the head, or is withdrawing from drugs, which creates the condition; further notes that the same article states, that an estimated 10 million people in the UK have sleep problems; further notes that very many people at any one time suffer the effects of a blow to the head or withdrawal from drugs, prescription or otherwise; considers that those are not proper defences for rape or murder which warrant walking free without any consequence and if they are now deemed to be so, represent a massive legal loophole; further considers that anyone who kills or commits rape cannot be considered completely safe to walk free in the community without much more extensive tests to check that they will not act in the same manner again andthat the seriousness of the act should require detention for such tests in all cases; and calls for a full-scale legal inquiry to consider this matter and to bring sense to UK law.

This motion has been signed by a total of 12 MPs.