Sleepwalking - Nightmare for the courts, by Ayako Kado and Larry R.
Fisher, University of Colorado International English Center, May 9, 2000.
Dr. Kryger says, "We don't know everything there is to know about
sleepwalking. In 10 years, maybe we'll find out he was telling the truth. You
need to be King Solomon to figure it out." "He" is the person who stabbed his
wife to death while, he claimed, sleepwalking. He was found guilty of murder in
the first degree. Sleepwalking as an excuse for criminal conduct has brought the
courts a "big headache." The dilemma for the legal system involves the decision
about whether the sleepwalker should be acquitted or convicted of the crime.
Juries need the wisdom of King Solomon to undo this "knotty problem."
There are many anecdotal stories about sleepwalking. Sleepwalking reminds
many people of amusing episodes. However, it is not a laughing matter for some
people. When sleeping, some sleepwalkers attempt suicide. Some binge on food or
become violent to others. Sleepwalkers have even murdered people during their
episodes even when the perpetrators had no reason to kill the victims.
The verdicts of the courts have not been universally consistent with each
sleep-related violence case. Some sleepwalkers have been found guilty, and some
have been set totally free. There is a case in which a man fatally shot his wife
and insisted that he remembered nothing about the event. He said his actions
must have taken place during a confused arousal caused by his severe sleep apnea
in which patients stop breathing during sleep and them suddenly restart
breathing with a hoarse snore. The jury rejected this defense and found him
guilty of first-degree murder. In a contrasting case, the jury ultimately found
a man who had severe sleep apnea and night terrors and killed his wife innocent
after two convictions. By their nature, the murder cases involving supposed
sleepwalking are of medical and legal interest. In fact, sleepwalking as a
criminal defense has opened up considerable debate within both the medical and
legal communities. For one example, the medical issue surrounding sleepwalking
involves the genetic and organic nature of the condition, in which the
sleepwalker is not personally responsible for the conduct. As for the legal
profession, the extent to which the sleepwalker's behavior seems to be sane or
insane is a major issue.
Fisher, University of Colorado International English Center, May 9, 2000.
Dr. Kryger says, "We don't know everything there is to know about
sleepwalking. In 10 years, maybe we'll find out he was telling the truth. You
need to be King Solomon to figure it out." "He" is the person who stabbed his
wife to death while, he claimed, sleepwalking. He was found guilty of murder in
the first degree. Sleepwalking as an excuse for criminal conduct has brought the
courts a "big headache." The dilemma for the legal system involves the decision
about whether the sleepwalker should be acquitted or convicted of the crime.
Juries need the wisdom of King Solomon to undo this "knotty problem."
There are many anecdotal stories about sleepwalking. Sleepwalking reminds
many people of amusing episodes. However, it is not a laughing matter for some
people. When sleeping, some sleepwalkers attempt suicide. Some binge on food or
become violent to others. Sleepwalkers have even murdered people during their
episodes even when the perpetrators had no reason to kill the victims.
The verdicts of the courts have not been universally consistent with each
sleep-related violence case. Some sleepwalkers have been found guilty, and some
have been set totally free. There is a case in which a man fatally shot his wife
and insisted that he remembered nothing about the event. He said his actions
must have taken place during a confused arousal caused by his severe sleep apnea
in which patients stop breathing during sleep and them suddenly restart
breathing with a hoarse snore. The jury rejected this defense and found him
guilty of first-degree murder. In a contrasting case, the jury ultimately found
a man who had severe sleep apnea and night terrors and killed his wife innocent
after two convictions. By their nature, the murder cases involving supposed
sleepwalking are of medical and legal interest. In fact, sleepwalking as a
criminal defense has opened up considerable debate within both the medical and
legal communities. For one example, the medical issue surrounding sleepwalking
involves the genetic and organic nature of the condition, in which the
sleepwalker is not personally responsible for the conduct. As for the legal
profession, the extent to which the sleepwalker's behavior seems to be sane or
insane is a major issue.
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