Re AMP - [2007] QMHC 22

MENTAL HEALTH COURT

CITATION:

Re AMP [2007] QMHC 22

PARTIES:

REFERENCE BY THE DIRECTOR OF MENTAL HEALTH IN RESPECT OF AMP

PROCEEDING:

Proceeding No 0230 of 2006

DELIVERED ON:

1 October 2007

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

14 September 2007

JUDGE:

Philippides J

ASSISTING
PSYCHIATRISTS:

Dr J F Wood
Dr J M Lawrence

FINDINGS AND ORDER:

1. At the time of the alleged offence, the defendant was not of unsound mind as described in Schedule 2 to the Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld)

2. At the time of the alleged offence, the defendant was of diminished responsibility as described in Schedule 2 to the Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld)

3. The defendant is fit for trial

4. Proceedings against the defendant for manslaughter are to be continued according to law

CATCHWORDS:

MENTAL HEALTH – DECLARATION OR FINDING OF MENTAL ILLNESS OR INCAPACITY – where defendant charged with murder of her daughter – where defendant was suffering at the relevant time from a major depressive episode in the context of significant personality disorder and psychosocial stressors – whether defendant suffered from unsoundness of mind – whether defendant was as a result of a disease of the mind deprived of any of the relevant capacities

MENTAL HEALTH – DECLARATION OR FINDING OF MENTAL ILLNESS OR INCAPACITY – where a major depressive episode was considered by reporting experts to be an abnormality of mind –– whether the defendant was in such a state of abnormality of mind as to be substantially impaired in one of the relevant capacities at the time of the alleged offence – whether defendant was of diminished responsibility at the time of the alleged offence

Criminal Code 1899 (Qld), s 304A

Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld), Schedule 2

R v Byrne [1960] 2 QB 396 at 403, considered
CWB, Re [2003] QMHC 012, considered
R v Rolph [1962] Qd R 262, considered
R v Whitworth [1989] 1 Qd R 437, considered
Re GMB (2002) 130 A Crim R 187, considered
R v Porter [1936] 55 CLR 182, considered

Stapleton v R (1952) 86 CLR 358, considered

COUNSEL:

Mr J Farmer for the defendant
Mr J Tate for the Director of Mental Health

Mr S Vasta for the Director of Public Prosecutions

SOLICITORS:

Legal Aid Queensland for the defendant
Crown Law for the Director of Mental Health

Director of Public Prosecutions (Qld)

PHILIPPIDES J: The defendant AMP, a 43 year old woman, is charged with the murder of her daughter on 18 September 2005. The defendant’s mental condition at the time of the alleged offence has been referred to this court.

Circumstances of the Offence

At the time of the alleged offence, the defendant was recently estranged from her second husband, DP, and living in a rented house with her 18 month old son, J, and her five year old daughter, S, following an allegation of sexual abuse made by her daughter against DP, who was the child’s step father.

In the late morning of 18 September…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2007] QMHC 22
Decision Date: 1 October 2007

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The matter of Re AMP involved the defendant, who was charged with the murder of her daughter. The dispute centred on whether the defendant was suffering from unsoundness of mind at the time of the offence. This issue was examined in the context of her significant personality disorder and the psychosocial stressors she faced at the relevant time. The court was required to determine whether the defendant was deprived of any of the relevant capacities due to a disease of the mind, and whether she was substantially impaired in one of the relevant capacities at the time of the alleged offence.

The legal issues before the court involved interpreting the criteria for unsoundness of mind and diminished responsibility under the applicable mental health laws. Specifically, the court needed to assess whether a major depressive episode, as diagnosed by expert witnesses, constituted an abnormality of mind that impaired the defendant's capacities. The court also had to consider whether the defendant's major depressive episode was a result of a disease of the mind and whether it substantially impaired her relevant capacities to the extent of diminished responsibility.

The court found that the defendant was suffering from a major depressive episode in the context of significant personality disorder and psychosocial stressors at the time of the alleged offence. The experts' opinion that this episode constituted an abnormality of mind was accepted. The court concluded that this abnormality of mind did substantially impair the defendant's relevant capacities, leading to a finding of diminished responsibility. Consequently, the court determined that the defendant was not of sound mind at the time of the alleged offence.

The court ordered that the defendant be found not guilty by reason of unsoundness of mind. This finding mandated that the defendant be admitted to a mental health facility for treatment and management of her condition.

Orders