Changes in Legal Defence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Changes in Legal Defence - Essay suitThis is the bedrock of the Canadian ratified system and the concept of defense is crucial in the determination of culpability. In the worst case scenario they must be given the opportunity to justify their actions through defenses. Recent events experience shown unique and new cases that demonstrate the evolving nature of the legal system. These reflected in the way the law is ever ever-changing in order to maintain a valid standpoint. An important aspect to this characteristic is how new legal defenses become legitimate and necessary addition to the legal system. There are several land shop cases in which seemingly absurd ideas such as automatism, battery and duress become legitimate defenses and excuses from barbarous guilt and culpability. Automatism Automatism attracted attention recently with several high profile wretched cases that led to acquittal. The decisions for these cases constitute on the whole new elements to Canadian jurispr udence. For example, there was the case of Kenneth Parks who killed his mother in-law and attempted to do the uniform to her husband. This happened in 1987 and was a controversial event that riveted the whole country until a finding of fact was reached in 1988. Ramsland (2010) provided the dour and enlightening details He rose from bed and got into his car. Despite, as he said later, not world awake, he drove about 14 miles to the home of his wifes parents in Scarborough. Accounts say he then outside a tire iron from the car and entered the house, where he proceeded to beat his mother-in-law to death and choke his father-in-law into unconsciousness. He likewise used a knife from his in-laws kitchen to stab them. (Ramsland, 2011) The defense for Park was automatism. His lawyer argued that this defense is supported by several important evidences. First, the perpetrator had a history of catch some Zswalking. Secondly, he had a good relationship with his wifes parents and, hence , had no motive for murder. Parks defense team assembled an army of experts psychiatrists, psychologist, neurologist, and a sleep disorder specialist - explaining what automatism is. (Ramsland) The disorder was new to the jury and, certainly, to the legal system. There is no explicit reference to this in the Canadian jurisprudence that is why the defense settled on homicidal somnambulism. The collective arguments presented by the experts, who demonstrated how sleepwalking is a neurotic disorder and could result in an individual having less operate of his or her actions, finally convinced the court that Parks was innocent. It was declared that his acts were unmediated and unconsciously committed, hence, free from criminal liability. The cases of murder and attempted murder lodged against him were promptly dismissed. As a defense, automatism is considered to be a category eliminate from insanity plea. A case of a woman charged with murdering her husband had the jury reject the ver dict of not guilty by reason of insanity but acquitted her of murder on the terra firma of automatism because she was proven to be subject to narcolepsy, a rare sleeping disorder. (McCord, McCord & Bailyer, 2011, p. 254) Another case, however, show a contrary facet to this type of defense. This was the case of William Wade who was charged with murder when he repeatedly stabbed his wife, banging her lintel on the