A Defence of Insanity and the Extra Y Chromosome: R v Hannell
| Author | Allen A. Bartholomew,G. Sutherland |
| Published date | 01 March 1969 |
| Date | 01 March 1969 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/000486586900200104 |
ADefence
of
Insanity and'
the Extra Y
Chromosome:
R v Hannell
ALLEN A. BARTHOLOMEW*
G. SUTHERLAND**
IN a
recent
trial
of a
man
charged
with
murder,
heard
in
the
Supreme
Court
of
Victoria
(R v
Hannell,
unreported),
considerable
interest
was
aroused,
and
much
inaccurate
comment,
in
relation
to
the
basis of
the
defence
raised:
the
defence
of
insanity.
During
the
course
of
the
psychiatric
evidence
given
for
the
defence
it
was
stated
that
the
accused
man
had
a
chromosome
constitution
of 47,XYY
and
this
led to
such
headlines
as
"Killer
with
odd
cells is
msane'",
"Not
guilty
for
killer
with
criminal
trait"2
and
"Jury
clears
XYY
man:
Insanity'".
These
headlines,
and
the
texts
they
headed,
give
the
impression
that
the
accused
successfully
raised
the
defence
of
insanity
on
the
basis of
his
chromosomal
abnormality.
This
is
not
a
true
representation
of
the
position.
Although
an
aspect
of
this
trial
has
been
commented
upon
briefly
in
the
Journal
as
an
Bditortals,
it
is
thought
that
the
whole
case,
clinical
features,
genetic
findings
and
the
evidence
offered
to
the
court,
should
be
presented
in
full.
Clinical
Features
Clinical
History:
He was
born
in
Victoria
one
of
twin
boys,
both
having
an
older
sister
and
later
two
younger
brothers.
He
was
the
second
of
the
twins
to be
born
and
his
mother
thinks
that
he
suffered
some
birth
injury.
Further,
the
mother
commented,
"He's
always
been
a
problem
child,"
and
stated
that
he
was
sick for
the
first
two
years
of
his
life.
From
the
Royal
Children's
Hospital-
the
early
clinical
history
was
that
he
had
seven
ad-
missions
over
the
first
seventeen
months
of
his
life. His
first
admission
was
for
prematurity
(birth
weight
4lb 30zs) , a
transient
systolic
murmur,
vomiting
and
diarrhoea,
and
sclerema.
His
second
admission
was
for
the
sclerematous
condition.
The
third
admission
was
for
asthmatic
bronchitis
*M.B. (Lond), D.P.M. (Lond), M.A.N.Z.C.P.,
Psychiatrist
Superintendent,
H.M.
Prison
Pentridge,
Melbourne.
** B.Sc. (Melb), Geneticist,
Chromosome
Laboratory,
St.
Nicholas
Hospital, Melbourne.
1.
Herald
(Melbourne)
9th
October,
1968.
2.
Australian
(Melbourne)
10th
October,
1968.
3.
Sun
(Melbourne)
10th
October,
1968.
4.
Editorial
(1968)
"The
Defence
of
Insanity
and
XYY"
Aust.N.Z.J.
Criminol,
1, 4, 199.
29
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