Should or should not a male/female be charged with murder, rape...etc if he/she was not conscious?

i heard this on the radio a few days ago and they said a guy raped a girl while he was sleep walking and he got away with it. what do you guys/gals think of this situation?

personally, i think he shouldn't be charged with anything since he was not conscious, therefore he did not realize what his actions were, but if there is a medication for such thing (which i think there is) and the violator did not take the medicine then he should be charged by all means.

Lol me to i was sleep walking when i robbed the bank
shot some guy
and typed this message

Wow, I've never heard of anything like that. I don't know. It's still your body and you're responsible for what it does. I just find that really hard to believe. Where did this happen?

http://www.torontosun.com/News/2005/11/30/1331094.html

There's a link to the article.

At first, I thought it was a joke. That is unbelievable. Thanks for posting the link. I have no idea what to say to that though.

Personally, I think the guy just lied and said he was sleepwalking to get away with the crime. I mean, are there evidence that proves he was actually sleepwalking? It's hard to prove something like that...

I find it pretty weird to do something like that, but I guess it is possible.

Erm.. that's just.. UNREAL.. OMG.. the stuff that happens .. O.o

i mean, but how do you literally PROVE that they were completely unconsious when it happened? i mean, are they gonna wire you up for a week or something to see how you behave at night? lol, b/c it seems like it'd be very easy to "fake". there are just SOOO many holes in proving that kind of defense :/

i would think that you'd wake up in the middle of a sex act, even if you're sleep walking.. you're heart-beat accelerates, and like in dreams, you wake up... O.o.. i mean, i would think you'd wake up fairly quick even if the other didn't throw you off...

that's crazy.. a little.. freaky.. man!...

((i was looking on that site and i saw some other stuff that was interesting about sleepwalkers getting away from crimes!))
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2005/11/30/1330155-sun.html

Jan Luedecke is not the first person to make headlines by claiming loss of consciousness during a crime.
Here are some other notable cases:
- In 1997, George Campbell slashed his then-girlfriend's throat.
He claimed he was sleepwalking when he committed the crime.
A judge found him not criminally responsible and ordered him to undergo psychiatric care out of custody.

- In 1994, Bert Stone stabbed his wife after she apparently provoked him with insults about his small penis and poor performance in bed.
He said all he could remember of the knife attack was hearing a whooshing sound in his head.
He was charged with murder, but convicted of manslaughter.

- In 1987, Kenneth Parks drove from his Pickering home to his in-laws' home in Scarborough.
He proved in court that he was asleep right from the time he drove his car, removed a tire iron from the trunk of the vehicle, grabbed a knife as he passed through his in-laws' kitchen and killed his mother-in-law as she slept in her bed.

I think he/she should get SOME KIND of punishment.

Personally, I think the guy just lied and said he was sleepwalking to get away with the crime. I mean, are there evidence that proves he was actually sleepwalking? It's hard to prove something like that...

and if it was real? it's not like it's impossible

I don't think a person should be necessary punished, but instead should go through serious therapy and medical sessions to both prove that person has sleep-walking episodes and to perhaps cure them of the habit (not necessarily the sleep walking even, but at least their subconscious actions while they walk).

Or we could put them into arenas and place bets on what people think the person will do...just a thought...

If someone is raping women will they sleep walk then they really should re-evaluate their lives and probably get committed. I do think he should be punished because people will start using that as an excuse. "I plead sleeping, your Honor."

It's near impossible if you ask me >< I doubt that any sleepwalkers are capable of commiting rape. If they are harsh enough to commit rape then lying canbe easy for them. Most rapists in our country use being drunk as an excuse.

I believe this is entirely possible, though I don't believe this particular boy. You would be amazed at the number of jury trials in which the verdict is not based on evidence given, due to creative defense attorneys and what they are allowed to get away with. Rape is exceptionally hard to prove; even if the suspect's semen is found on or in the girl, she will just be accused of being promiscuous, or wanting it and then afterwards becoming ashamed of herself, and concocting a rape story to escape responsibility. Defense attorneys can be sickeningly low sometimes. Our courts today have become so ardent with the desire to protect the rights of the accused, hardly any thought is given to the victim's rights anymore. More often than not, the defense tries to turn the accused into the victim, and the victim into a manipulative, attention seeking troublemaker.

I have always found this double standard to be ridiculous. If a boy has sex (we will say ten times for this example) he is considered a stud, a man, and his friends (and often father) are proud of him. If a girl has sex just ONCE, she is forever labeled a slut, and this stigma never fades. She then becomes an easy target for predators, because they will say "Oh, there is no way anyone will believe she didn't want it. Besides, I'm popular; no one is going to question me."

Our Judicial system needs a rigorous spring cleaning, if you ask me.

I have never heard of someone being capable of murder or rape while sleep walking