I'm not saying we should let them off scot-free. I and a few other posters have suggested medical evaluation and treatment. But if there were sufficient proof that a person had a genuine sleep disorder, I don't think it would (posted to The sleepwalking defense?)
To play Devil's advocate, this man has no REPORTED history of sleep disorders. It's possible that he's done his fair share of sleepwalking, and nobody told him. Or maybe he regularly has sex with his wife or girlfriend, and she (posted to The sleepwalking defense?)
It's definitely worrying that he was completely acquitted. In the US (I've heard) a successful insanity defense results in mandatory treatment in lieu of incarceration or other punishment. Are there similar rules in the UK? Is there a reason they (posted to The sleepwalking defense?)
Oh, the Sac Bee. Le sigh. Northern California (there's still half the state north of San Francisco, people) is not exactly known for its leftist leanings. (posted to No marriage for you until you clean your room)
I definitely think that in this case it's suspicious. My comment was directed more at those who seem to think that it's impossible to be aggressive in one's sleep, and that this is some trendy new defense. Sorry for the (posted to The sleepwalking defense?)
I suspect your feelings are really caused by your skepticism about this alleged defense. I, too, find it to be hard to believe. Guys of a certain age often have nocturnal emissions that are completely involuntary, but sleepwalking rape -- (posted to The sleepwalking defense?)
I just felt a burst of irrational hatred explode in my head. I am the furthest thing from violent imaginable, yet I imagined myself tipping the quoted speaker off the side of a wall, like Humpty Dumpty. I just...I can't (posted to No marriage for you until you clean your room)
Weekly Feministing Newsletter
Feministing RSS Feed