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Supreme Court 8 December 2020

R v Macguire

[2020] NSWSC 1768

Homicide
CRIMINAL LAW MURDER ACCUSED UNFIT TO BE TRIED SPECIAL HEARING JUDGE ALONE M’NAGHTEN RULES

Citation: R v Macguire [2020] NSWSC 1768
Court: Supreme Court of New South Wales
Date: 8 December 2020
Judge(s): Fagan J

Background

The accused was charged with the murder of a fellow remand prisoner, Ryan Fennell, at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre (MRRC) at Silverwater on 8 April 2019. CCTV footage captured the accused carrying out a sustained and lethal attack on Mr Fennell over approximately 45 minutes inside their shared cell, causing death by neck compression and blunt force craniofacial trauma.

The accused had a lengthy psychiatric history dating back to at least 2000, with consistent diagnoses of schizophrenia since 2003 and classification of his condition as treatment resistant since 2006. Despite this history, he had been returned to the MRRC from the Forensic Hospital just 13 days before the killing, following an assessment that he was not mentally ill but had a severe personality disorder. Fagan J noted that this assessment was contradicted by more than 20 prior psychiatric hospital admissions and the uniform opinions of treating doctors over many years.

Following a finding by Hidden AJ in April 2020 that the accused was unfit to be tried, and a subsequent Mental Health Review Tribunal determination that he would not become fit within 12 months, the Director of Public Prosecutions elected to proceed. The matter was therefore listed for a special hearing under the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW). Both the Crown and defence accepted that the appropriate verdict was not guilty on the ground of mental illness.

  • Whether the accused caused the death of Mr Fennell by deliberate acts, as a threshold requirement before the mental illness defence could be considered
  • Whether the defence of mental illness under s 38 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) was established, applying the M'Naghten rules
  • What verdict and consequent orders were appropriate in a judge-alone special hearing where the accused was permanently unfit to be tried

Decision

Fagan J was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt, on the basis of the Crown Case Statement and CCTV evidence, that the accused caused Mr Fennell's death by deliberate acts carried out with intent to kill. This threshold finding was required before the mental illness defence could be considered, consistent with the approach confirmed in Hawkins v The Queen (1994) 179 CLR 500 and R v Minani [2005] NSWCCA 226.

The court then applied the M'Naghten rules, as codified in s 38 and interpreted through The King v Porter (1933) 55 CLR 182. Under those rules, an accused is not criminally responsible if, at the time of the act, a defect of reason arising from a disease of the mind meant the accused either did not know the nature and quality of the act, or did not know that what they were doing was wrong.

A comprehensive body of psychiatric evidence established that the accused suffered from treatment-resistant schizophrenia at the time of the killing. The accused's stated explanations for his actions, which varied across different accounts and included delusions about the deceased having a knife and asking to be killed, were found to have no point of contact with reality. Fagan J concluded that the accused's inability to form any reasoned view about his conduct at the time rendered him incapable of understanding its moral wrongfulness.

On the balance of probabilities, the court was satisfied that the mental illness defence was established. Fagan J also noted the legal and practical consequences of the verdict, including that the Mental Health Review Tribunal may only order the accused's release if satisfied his release would not seriously endanger public safety.

Orders Made

  • The accused was found not guilty on the ground of mental illness on the charge of murdering Ryan Fennell on 8 April 2019 at Silverwater.
  • Matthew Terrence John Macguire is to be detained at the Forensic Hospital until released by due process of law.

Key Takeaways

  • A verdict of not guilty on the ground of mental illness in a special hearing under the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) requires the court to first be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused caused the death by deliberate acts, before the mental illness defence is engaged.
  • Under the M'Naghten rules, applied as confirmed in The King v Porter, the defence is established where a disease of the mind causes a defect of reason such that the accused did not know the nature and quality of the act, or did not know it was morally wrong.
  • Inconsistency and variability in an accused's account of their reasons for acting was treated here as consistent with, rather than undermining, a finding of delusion, given the delusional nature of all such perceptions.
  • A special hearing under s 19(2) of the Forensic Provisions Act is conducted as nearly as possible to a criminal trial, and judge-alone proceedings may result in a verdict of not guilty on the ground of mental illness under ss 21B and 22(1)(b).
  • A verdict of not guilty on the ground of mental illness does not result in unconditional release; detention continues at the Forensic Hospital until the Mental Health Review Tribunal is satisfied that release would not seriously endanger public safety.

Legislation and Cases Referenced

Legislation
- Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW), ss 19, 21, 21A, 21B, 22, 38, 39, 55
- Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW)

Cases
- R v M'Naghten (1843) 8 ER 718
- The King v Porter (1933) 55 CLR 182
- Hawkins v The Queen (1994) 179 CLR 500
- R v Minani (2005) 63 NSWLR 490; [2005] NSWCCA 226