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 applicant, a French citizen, struggled with depression, schizophrenia and, at some points, symptoms of catatonia.  In May of 1961, the applicant, who was a primary school supply teacher, voluntarily reported to the neurological clinic at Strasbourg Hospital for observation. He expected to be in the hospital for two weeks. In June of 1961, …Read more

Jens Soering was a German national who came to the United States to study at the University of Virginia. While there, he became friends with Elizabeth Haysom, a Canadian national.  Haysom’s parents did not approve of Soering and Haysom’s relationship.  In March 1985 the couple made plans to kill Haysom’s parents.  They rented a car …Read more

In 1985 the Petitioners wrote a letter to the Court regarding the deteriorating state of the Ranchi Mansik Arogyashala, a mental hospital (the Hospital) in Bihar. The Court treated it as a public interest litigation under Article 32 of the Constitution. The Court directed the Chief Judicial Magistrate to visit the Hospital and submit a …Read more

This writ petition had been filed in the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution (right to move the Supreme Court for violation of fundamental rights), as a result of a letter outlining the condition of women in a “care home.” It was alleged in the letter that female inmates were made to live …Read more

The Richmond Hill Insane Asylum in Grenada was bombed by military aircraft belonging to the United States in 1983. Petitioners, including Disabled Peoples’ International, presented the names of sixteen persons who were killed and six who were injured and claimed that the deaths and physical injuries of the mental patients were caused by purposeful armed …Read more

Eve was a mentally disabled young woman suffering from a condition that made it extremely difficult for her to communicate with others. She was not capable of understanding the consequential relationship between intercourse, pregnancy and birth.  Mrs. E, her mother, was concerned that Eve might innocently become pregnant, which would mean that she, an elderly …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