Silva Rocha (S) was remanded in custody after a dispute with a neighbor following which the latter died. He was committed for trial on charges of aggravated homicide and illegal possession of weapons and the criminal court found in July 1990 that the established facts constituted these offences. However, it concluded from the medical evidence …Read more

Francis (F) had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death in February 1980. An appeal was dismissed in November 1981 and in October 1987 a note of the oral judgment was produced but nothing written was issued. His lawyers had apparently stated that they could find no grounds to argue on his behalf with …Read more

Parkes attacked his parents-in-law at their home. The attack resulted into the death of one and severe injury to the other. After the attack, he drove to a police station to report what he had done. Parkes was charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder. At trial, his defense was automatism i.e. sleep walking. He …Read more

Swain was arrested and charged with assault and aggravated assault. Due to his bizarre conduct during the incident and at the time of his arrest, Swain was transferred from jail to a mental health centre before trial. His condition improved with medication, and he was conditionally released into the community before trial. Swain continued to …Read more

The appellants were found guilty of first degree murder. At trial, expert evidence was given that the appellants suffered from a paranoid psychosis which made them believe they could rule the world, and in order to achieve this they had to kill. Although they were aware that the laws of Canada existed, the appellants did …Read more

W pled guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility for the indiscriminate killing of several people. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was detained indefinitely in mental hospitals. A Mental Health Tribunal recommended W’s transfer to a regional secure unit (“RSU”) in 1984. The Secretary of State refused to consent to W’s …Read more

The Appellant, Ford, was convicted of murder in a Florida state court and sentenced to death in 1974. There was no suggestion that he was incompetent at the time of the offense, at trial, or at sentencing. However in 1982, Ford began to manifest gradual changes in behavior, which, based on a psychiatric examination, indicated …Read more

Applicant, Luberti, an Italian national, shot and killed his mistress and was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. The applicant pleaded insanity and several experts concluded that the applicant was suffering from mental illness. These findings were accepted by the Court of Appeal and he was acquitted on grounds of mental incapacity and the applicant was …Read more

Petitioner Rouse brought this habeas corpus action alleging that he had been unlawfully committed to a hospital for the mentally ill because he had not voluntarily and knowingly introduced the insanity defense or authorized his attorney to do so during his trial on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a weapon without a license. When he …Read more

In 1962, Appellant Rouse was involuntarily committed to a mental hospital pursuant to D.C. Code § 24-301 after being found not guilty by reason of insanity of carrying a dangerous weapon, a misdemeanor for which the maximum imprisonment was one year. Rouse challenged his commitment on grounds of habeas corpus; he had been confined for …Read more