DPP v Jakeman
[2007] VSC 286
•8 August 2007
| IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA | Not Restricted |
AT MELBOURNE
CRIMINAL DIVISION
No. 1516 of 2007
| DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS | Plaintiff |
| v | |
| CODIE JAKEMAN | Defendant |
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JUDGE: | HARPER J | |
WHERE HELD: | MELBOURNE | |
DATE OF HEARING: | 8 AUGUST 2007 | |
DATE OF JUDGMENT: | 8 AUGUST 2007 | |
CASE MAY BE CITED AS: | DPP v JAKEMAN | |
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION: | [2007] VSC 286 | |
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CRIMINAL LAW – Murder – Verdict of not guilty because of mental impairment - Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness To Be Tried) Act 1997, s.21(2)(b), s.21(4).
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APPEARANCES: | Counsel | Solicitors |
| For the Director of Public Prosecutions | Mr B. Kayser | Angela Cannon, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions |
| For the Accused | Mr D. Dann | Chris McLennan & Associates |
HIS HONOUR:
This is a hearing pursuant to s.21(2)(b) of the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness To Be Tried) Act 1997. This provision allows the trial judge to determine whether a person charged with an indictable offence was suffering from mental impairment at the time the conduct constituting the offence occurred.
I have had placed before me this morning reports prepared by, respectively, Dr Danny Sullivan, dated 5 January 2007, Drs Jane Phillips and Douglas Bell, dated 6 June 2007, and a separate report of Dr Bell, also dated 6 June 2007. I have also before me a summary prepared by the police, of the circumstances surrounding the deaths on 10 June 2006 of John Philemon Green, formerly known as John Philemon Street, and Kathryn Hogg.
I am satisfied on the basis of that material that the accused, Mr Codie Jakeman, who has pleaded not guilty to the two charges of murder on which he was arraigned this morning, was, at the time of the commission of the offences with which he is charged, unable to reason with a moderate degree of sense and composure about whether the conduct in question was wrong. That being the case, the accused falls within the category of persons who can be dealt with pursuant to s.21(4) of the Act, and I am satisfied that the evidence establishes the defence of mental impairment.
I accordingly direct that a verdict of not guilty because of mental impairment be recorded. I further order that upon the provision to the court of a certificate pursuant to s.47, the accused be placed in custodial supervision, for a period of 25 years. That period is to be deemed to have commenced on 10 June 2006.
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