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Episode 76: Mens Rea and the Automatism Defense

Episode 76: Mens Rea and the Automatism Defense

Released Tuesday, 22nd December 2020
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Episode 76: Mens Rea and the Automatism Defense

Episode 76: Mens Rea and the Automatism Defense

Episode 76: Mens Rea and the Automatism Defense

Episode 76: Mens Rea and the Automatism Defense

Tuesday, 22nd December 2020
Good episode? Give it some love!
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In 2013, 44 year-old former drug addict David Sullivan attacked and repeatedly stabbed his elderly mother. In 2015, 19 year-old former high school rugby star Thomas Chan brutally murdered his own father. Both suffered severe psychotic breaks that led to their violent actions, but due to a quirk in Canadian law, both were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

The successful appeal of these cases was reported as the court legalizing intoxication as a defense for sexual assault, resulting in a massive public backlash largely unrelated to the ultimate fates of two innocent men.

Maclean's Article: https://www.macleans.ca/longforms/thomas-chan-supreme-court/

Legal Analysis from the Saskatchewan Review: https://sasklawreview.ca/the-constitutionality-of-section-33.1-a-never-ending-story.php

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