It was common ground between the psychiatric experts that, at the time when the applicant killed her husband, her responsibility was materially diminished. The prosecution were prepared to accept a plea of guilty to manslaughter on this ground. The applicant refused to tender such a plea and gave express instructions that she would plead not guilty. After conviction she wished diminished responsibility to be reconsidered.
Held: The court rejected the request by a defendant to bring at appeal from her conviction for murder, new medical evidence as to her diminished responsibilty at the time of the offence.
The applicant was ‘sufficiently capable’ of tendering her plea and fully advised as to her position. ‘Although she may not have been a normal person, she was capable in law of making the decision’.
Citations:
[1995] 1 All ER 187
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Weekes CACD 18-Feb-1999
The defendant appealed against his conviction for murder saying that at the time of the offence he suffered a paranoid psychotic illness which would have substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts. He was not regarded as insane as . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Criminal Practice
Updated: 01 May 2022; Ref: scu.241719