Department of Psychiatry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.
J Forensic Sci. 2024 Nov;69(6):2103-2109. doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.15611. Epub 2024 Aug 26.
Self-induced extreme intoxication akin to automatism (SIEA) is a complicated and controversial legal concept resistant to jurisdictional consensus. In the United States, SIEA has, at times, been considered under the concept of "settled insanity.". In the United Kingdom, the defense may be allowed for specific intent crimes, though the defendant's awareness of the foreseeability of risk is addressed at trial. In Canada, recent jurisprudence has led to legal and practice landscape changes related to self-induced extreme intoxication. Here, we provide an overview of automatism and an update on the Canadian perspective with a review of the facts and an analysis of the Supreme Court of Canada's landmark decision in R v. Brown, where the court permitted the SIEA defense to be utilized for general intent crimes and acquitted Matthew Winston Brown, a 26-year-old male with no history of mental illness, with respect to two counts of "break and enter" and one count of "aggravated assault." We review the social and legislative response to the changing case law as well as related implications for expert testimony, which may be provided by forensic mental health professionals. Given the judicial and legal implications of the recent changes for both perpetrators and victims of violent crime and given the dynamic international landscape on extreme intoxication in criminal law, the review is thought to be of interest to a broad category of stakeholders including policymakers and those working in forensic psychiatry and law.
自我诱导的极度醉酒类似于自动症（SIEA）是一个复杂且有争议的法律概念，难以在司法管辖范围内达成共识。在美国，有时会根据“既定的精神错乱”概念来考虑 SIEA。在英国，可能允许针对特定意图犯罪进行辩护，但在审判中会考虑被告对可预见风险的认识。在加拿大，最近的判例法导致与自我诱导的极度醉酒相关的法律和实践环境发生变化。在这里，我们提供了自动症的概述，并更新了加拿大的观点，回顾了事实，并分析了加拿大最高法院在 R v. Brown 案中的里程碑式决定，法院允许将 SIEA 辩护用于一般意图犯罪，并宣布马修·温斯顿·布朗无罪，他是一名 26 岁的男性，没有精神病史，涉及两项“闯入”和一项“严重攻击”罪名。我们审查了对不断变化的判例法的社会和立法反应，以及对法医心理健康专业人员提供的专家证词的相关影响。鉴于最近的变化对暴力犯罪的犯罪者和受害者都具有司法和法律影响，并且鉴于刑法中关于极度醉酒的动态国际形势，预计该审查将引起广泛利益相关者的关注，包括政策制定者以及从事法医精神病学和法律工作的人员。
