What is the difference between sane and insane automatism? Discuss in reference toFalconer's case.Also, what was the outcome of the appeal and doyou agree with the court's decision? Why or why not....

Sane and Insane Automatism
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AUTOMATISM
Automatism refers to a state or situation of the mind of a person when the actions of a person do
not accompany or match up with his or her mind. It is a situation where a person is not in his or
her senses and is indulged in a particular form of criminal activity. The person affected from this
kind of a situation does not act on a particular thing voluntarily. It deprives the prosecution of the
accused from proving that the accused was intently involved in the crime as done by him or her.
It prevents the prosecution from establishing or building up a physical element in the offence as
done by the accused. In order to prove the action of automatism by the accused, it is important
for him or her to produce the evidence that proves for his or her actions. If there is no proper
proof as such, then the act of automatism would also be considered as a crime as well.
“Automatism is essentially a legal defense, arguing that a person cannot be held responsible for
their actions because they had no conscious knowledge of
them”(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8370674.stm). Therefore, we can also say that
Automatism is a legal defense in the eyes of the court of law. It can only be considered as the
legal defense on the condition that the accused is producing all the evidence for the purpose of
proving the same. Sleepwalking is one of the signs of Automatism. “In relation to sleep,
automatism is said to occur when the body's natural defense mechanisms, guarding against
physical injury during unconsciousness, fail to work”
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8370674.stm).
TYPES OF AUTOMATISM
Automatism can be of two types, namely, Sane Automatism and Insane Automatism. The Sane
form of Automatism is that which does not result from the disease or the state of the mind of a
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8370674.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8370674.stm
Sane and Insane Automatism
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person. The prosecution has to produce a particular proof or evidence in order prove that the
accused is not involved in any kind of an Automatism Defense. While, insane Automatism is the
result of any kind of mental disability of the people. It is the situation when a person acts in
automatic state due to a mind disease. The defense made by a particular person having a mental
disease will not be considered as a crime by the court. The Australian law strictly supports the
act of Automatism so that the people who are unstable from the minds can act in their own
defense.
CASE LAW RELATED TO AUTOMATISM
There was a case relating to Mary Sandra Falconer where she was convicted for the murder of
her husband Gordon Robert Falconer, by using a shotgun. While her husband was sleeping, she
had fired the bullet from the shotgun. It has been said that on the day of the murder of Gordon,
he had come to Mary’s home (they were a divorced couple, so that is why they lived separately),
unexpectedly. Apart from this, he had even assaulted Mary in the sexual way and had harassed
her sexually. He had also demonstrated various moods in front of all the family members. There
were various tantrums as well which was said by him, to the appellant and the two daughters,
which cannot be said in the court as it would be hard for the...