The Supreme Court of Western Australia, in the first special proceeding under the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023 (WA), found the accused not guilty of murder on account of mental impairment. The Court was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused killed the deceased by stabbing, but found on the balance of probabilities that the accused was suffering from a psychotic disorder (schizophrenia/psychotic disorder NOS) that deprived him of the capacity to control his actions and the capacity to know that he ought not do the act, accepting concordant expert psychiatric evidence. The Court expressly declined to determine whether the accused also lacked the capacity to understand what he was doing, noting it raised a difficult question of law that was unnecessary to resolve given findings on the other two capacities.
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