Question

SEARCH “sleepwalking defense” on the Internet and briefly describe a case you find.

DISCUSS whether you think it’s possible to commit horrible crimes while asleep.

Answer 1

Sleepwalking defense is a legal argument that the accused should not be considered gulity because he/she acted in a sleeplike state without having any intention to commit the crime.

CASE STUDY

Kenneth Parks, a young Canadian man, was acquitted in the 1987 murder of his mother-in-law after using the sleepwalking defense. On the night of the death, he arose from bed, drove 14 miles to the house of his in-laws and strangled his father-in-law until the man passed out. He bludgeoned his mother-in-law with a tire iron and stabbed them both with a kitchen knife. The woman died; the man barely survived. Parks then arrived at a police station. Police said he seemed confused about what had transpired, and they noted something odd: Parks appeared oblivious to the fact that he'd severed tendons in both his hands during the attack. That obliviousness to pain, along with other factors, including a strong family history of parasomnias, led experts to testify that Parks had been sleepwalking during the attack. Not conscious, not responsible, not guilty. From the above case study it is clear that it is possible to commit horrible crimes while asleep.