George Dugbo successfully represented a defendant at Kingston Crown Court who faced charges of attempted murder, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.

The case arose from a serious stabbing in which the complainant sustained multiple penetrating injuries and required emergency medical treatment. The physical acts were not in dispute. The central issue at trial was the defendant’s mental state and whether, as a result of paranoid schizophrenia, he was legally insane at the time of the incident.

The Defence relied upon psychiatric evidence from three consultant psychiatrists. All agreed that the defendant was suffering from schizophrenia and that, although he knew what he was doing, he did not know that what he was doing was wrong.

An important issue arose during the trial as to the correct route to verdict, in particular whether the jury should determine the defendant’s specific intent before considering the defence of insanity. The Defence submitted that insanity should be considered first and that questions of specific intent would arise only if the defence of insanity was rejected. That approach was ultimately reflected in the judge’s legal directions to the jury.

In closing, George drew together the psychiatric evidence with the defendant’s conduct and striking contemporaneous statements immediately after the incident, inviting the jury to consider the extent to which his actions were being driven by his mental illness. Despite the unanimity of the expert evidence, the Defence still had to persuade the jury, on the balance of probabilities, that the legal test for insanity was established.

After retiring for approximately 30 minutes, the jury returned verdicts of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity on all three counts.