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7
Supreme Court 2 April 2014

R v Iusi Afele

[2014] NSWSC 366

Homicide
CRIMINAL LAW MURDER WHERE DEFENCE OF MENTAL ILLNESS RAISED

Citation: R v Iusi Afele [2014] NSWSC 366
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 2 April 2014
Judge: Bellew J

Background

The accused was charged with the murder of his neighbour at a Bathurst apartment complex on 5 March 2013. The two men had been friendly, having recently painted the accused's unit together. On the morning of the killing, the accused entered a communal gathering in a neighbour's unit and stabbed the deceased multiple times with a large knife he had concealed in his sleeve. The deceased died at the scene.

The accused had a documented history of schizophrenia. In police interviews conducted on the day of the killing and again about a week later, he described hearing voices in the days beforehand telling him that his neighbours intended to kill him and that he had to kill them first. He also disclosed a suicide attempt by hanging two days before the incident, and said the episode had been triggered by smoking synthetic cannabis while painting with the deceased.

The trial proceeded before a judge alone, with the Crown consenting to that arrangement. The Crown tendered documentary evidence by consent, and the court heard oral evidence from two forensic psychiatrists. The accused's counsel raised the defence of mental illness.

  • Whether the accused had established the defence of mental illness on the balance of probabilities
  • Specifically, whether, at the time of the killing, the accused knew that what he was doing was morally wrong (applying the M'Naghten Rules as adopted in Australian law)
  • Whether admissions made by the accused in police interviews were inconsistent with the mental illness defence

Decision

Bellew J was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the accused was suffering from treatment-resistant schizophrenia at the time of the killing, characterised by paranoid delusions and auditory hallucinations. This finding was based on the agreed or consistent opinions of both forensic psychiatrists, Dr Stephen Allnutt and Dr Richard Furst, and was not contradicted by any other evidence.

The central question under the M'Naghten Rules (as applied in Australia) is whether the accused knew that what he was doing was wrong. The court drew the distinction between knowing an act is legally wrong and knowing it is morally wrong, noting that the relevant test is the latter. Both psychiatrists expressed the opinion that, although the accused understood the legal nature of his act, his delusional belief that he was killing in self-defence meant he did not appreciate the moral wrongness of what he was doing.

One complicating factor was the accused's statement to police shortly after arrest: "I understand what I've done wrong." The court considered this carefully, but both psychiatrists addressed it directly. Dr Allnutt explained that the statement, made after the accused was in custody, showed awareness of legal wrongness only. Both experts confirmed this did not alter their conclusion that the accused lacked appreciation of moral wrongness at the time of the act.

Bellew J accepted the unanimous expert evidence and found that the defence of mental illness had been made out on the balance of probabilities. The court extended sympathy to the families of both the deceased and the accused before making orders.

Orders Made

  • The accused was found not guilty of murder on the grounds of mental illness.
  • The accused was ordered to be detained pursuant to s 39 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 in an appropriate correctional centre or such facility as the Mental Health Review Tribunal may determine, until released by due process of law.
  • The Registrar was directed to notify the Minister for Health and the Mental Health Review Tribunal of the orders made.

Key Takeaways

  • The Supreme Court confirmed that the mental illness defence requires the accused to establish, on the balance of probabilities, that he did not know his act was morally wrong, not merely that he understood its legal character.
  • Under the M'Naghten Rules as applied in New South Wales, knowledge of legal wrongness is distinct from knowledge of moral wrongness; a finding that the accused understood he had done something "wrong" in a legal sense does not foreclose the defence.
  • Where two forensic psychiatrists gave consistent and unchallenged opinions, the court treated their agreement as a significant basis for accepting the defence was made out, even where some isolated statements in police interviews appeared to cut against it.
  • A verdict of not guilty on the grounds of mental illness does not result in an unconditional release; the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 provides for ongoing detention and review by the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
  • Psychosis triggered or worsened by substance use (here, synthetic cannabis) does not automatically exclude the mental illness defence where the underlying condition is a serious psychiatric disorder such as treatment-resistant schizophrenia.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation:
- Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW)
- Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW), s 39

Cases:
- R v McNaghton (1843) 8 ER 718
- R v Porter (1933) 55 CLR 182
- Stapleton v R (1952) 86 CLR 659
- Mizzi v R (1960) 105 CLR 659
- R v Falconer (1990) 171 CLR 30
- R v Ayoub [1984] 2 NSWLR 511
- R v Coleman [2010] NSWSC 177
- R v McDonald [2012] NSWSC 875
- R v Kemp [1957] 1 QB 399
- R v Presser [1958] VR 45
- Tumanako v R (1992) 64 A Crim R 149
- R v Kesavarajah (1994) 74 A Crim R 100