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News & ArtsWednesday, November 18, 2009
Crime Man On Trial for Killing His Wife During a Dream
Posted by Charles Mudede on Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 8:09 AM
BBC reports:
The trial of a husband accused of murdering his wife as they slept in a camper van has heard he killed her while he dreamt she was an intruder.My memory is not always as accurate as I would like it to be, but I vaguely recall a story or comment by Borges containing the ideal punishment for this odd crime: Grant the man freedom during his waking hours and confinement during his sleeping ones. Free for the day; in prison for the night. It's a strange solution for a strange crime.Christine Thomas, 57, was killed in Aberporth, Ceredigion, in July 2008.
Swansea Crown Court heard Brian Thomas, 59, of Neath, accepts he killed her but says he has a sleep disorder which had been triggered by "boy racer activity".Prosecuting barrister Paul Thomas... described how Mr Thomas killed his wife, his childhood sweetheart, because he had dreamt she was a man who had broken into their motor home.
The court was told Mr Thomas's disorder meant he was not in control of his actions when he strangled his partner of 40 years.
After commissioning evidence from sleep experts, the prosecution agreed his actions were involuntary and he could not be held responsible.
Prosecuting, Mr Thomas said the defendant was charged with the murder of his wife, whose death he accepted causing.
2
weird. i don't think he would have the mens rea necessary to be convicted of murder. manslaughter, maybe.
3
Clearly he's no "murderer." And yet, I'm not all that sure I'd want him walking around free either.
4
Gives a whole new meaning, even redefinition to 'sleepwalking'....
Undoubtedly the UK's politically correct courts will wind up giving this man a sentence along the bizarre lines proposed by Mudede.
Undoubtedly the UK's politically correct courts will wind up giving this man a sentence along the bizarre lines proposed by Mudede.
5
Are you completely stupid? UK courts allow authorities to hold people without charging them for up to a month, and they've fairly recently ignored evidence of torture, extraordinary rendition, and manslaughter. Yes, it's true that British prisons contain much lower incidences of rape and murder than American prisons -- so maybe that's your definition of "politically correct". But otherwise, you're an idiot.
the UK's politically correct courts
Are you completely stupid? UK courts allow authorities to hold people without charging them for up to a month, and they've fairly recently ignored evidence of torture, extraordinary rendition, and manslaughter. Yes, it's true that British prisons contain much lower incidences of rape and murder than American prisons -- so maybe that's your definition of "politically correct". But otherwise, you're an idiot.
6
That was Borges? I heard that story when I was a kid, I think. The inspector pursuing a killer who presents evidence that he, in fact, is the killer? Seriously, some condensed version of that was a reading exercise in elementary school. Never did know where the story came from.
7
@6, i think you are correct. i read that story in primary school. i think you are very right. it's just so borgsian.
8
"Borgsian" would be the gringo way to say it; in fact as you know the word is Borges as in Boerhays so the adjuective would be spelled Borgesian and pronounced Boerhaysian.
for those of you who are internationally and linguistically illiterate gringos.
Jokay?
for those of you who are internationally and linguistically illiterate gringos.
Jokay?
9
"Grant the man freedom during his waking hours and confinement during his sleeping ones. Free for the day; in prison for the night."
What if the man's subconscious had been given a trial? It probably would have been pretty easy to get an acquittal there as well. The "my wife was dressed in a black mask and was robbing my RV" defense.
What if the man's subconscious had been given a trial? It probably would have been pretty easy to get an acquittal there as well. The "my wife was dressed in a black mask and was robbing my RV" defense.
10
For a few years during and just after being in the Army, it used to be dangerous to wake me ... and one time when in the field someone tried to wake me when it wasn't my turn on patrol I threw someone clear across a large 24 foot tent which apparently didn't fully wake me. It's very sad she got killed, but understandable. The human mind is more complex than we realize and our perceptions of reality are frequently distorted even when awake.
11
anyone who doesn't buy this story would be stunned to learn what goes on in my bedroom while one of us is asleep.
12
This man probably has REM Behavior Disorder which I have as well. What we do in these episode is entirely involuntary, although I have only hurt myself and not others. You can't be culpable for something unless you acted consciously and voluntarily. However, there is treatment for it and, if he was aware of his condition, he should have sought treatment.
13
When I first saw the headline, I thought the defendant was on trial because he had a dream in which he killed his wife. That would have been weird.
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