CAIRO: Dreams can be a dangerous thing if, that is, they lead to murder.
The December 2006 crime reported in Al Gomhuria daily, where a married man from Giza stabbed his wife four times in the neck after he dreamt it, shocked the nation.
The man suffered from depression. After suddenly realizing that his wife was lying in a pool of blood, he started crying hysterically, took his two kids to his brother’s place next door and turned himself in to the police.
Another incident reported in Al-Masry Al-Youm in Jan. 2007, a 40-year-old man from Naga Hamadi stabbed his 13-year-old daughter several times in the chest while she was sleeping at night.
When his wife saw what he did, she started screaming but he threatened to kill her, threw the knife on the ground and fled the scene.
Surprisingly the murdered girl was not his only child and in his confessions he revealed that a weird voice had told him to take the life of this particular daughter, even though she was sleeping side by side with her brothers and sisters.
He too was a psychiatric patient on medication. He would sometimes roam aimlessly in the streets of his village but he never showed signs of violence.
But should such criminals stand trial?
The general perception is that the medical history of these killers mitigates their case, since they committed these crimes in a state of sub-consciousness.
“But judges in such cases consider only the medical report submitted by experts and it is usually the defense lawyer that cites the parts in that report to help their client, said Dr Magdy Refae, a neuropsychiatrist and expert in forensic psychiatry.
He added: “The fact that the killer is a psychiatric patient doesn’t always mean that he should be acquitted, for it is always wrong to take for granted that he has committed the murder while in a state of psychological trauma.
“The degree of his guilt depends on the nature of his illness, the time the murder was committed and, most importantly, the details of the crime.
Refae said that we have to be careful about what the media report as depression, for, according to the expert, depression is a general term and could be mistaken for other psychological illnesses.
“Maladies like depression, epilepsy and acute hysteria are marked by a ‘fuge’, a dream- like condition as well as other symptoms. Some of these symptoms include seeking others’ attention, making exaggerations and dramatizing very small issues, explained Refae.
“In spite of the fact that during this ‘fuge’ the patient might lose touch with his ordinary milieu and the people involved in his daily life, it does not necessarily mean that he would kill, he noted.
When a crime is involved, however, experts start examining the nature of the disease, because, as Refae stresses, each illness is marked by bouts of activity and dormancy.
“For example, at dawn and early hours of the morning the pressure of depression reaches a peak compared to a dramatic improvement experienced later in the day or in the evening.
“This is why it is important to be precise about whether the killing was committed during a peak activity of the malady. This is a particularity that distinguishes one case from another and should establish how far the accused person is responsible for his actions.
In such cases the murders could be the result of delusions, deja-vu or more significantly wishful thinking.
“Yes, this or that man could have wished to see his wife or daughter dead, said Refae.
In all cases, experts must examine the nature of the delusions in order to establish whether they are related to the murder.
He explained: “If the patient’s delusions have a conservative nature, that is, a mania triggered by moralistic issues, then murdering a dancer at a night club, for instance, would be in line with his illness.
When the nature of the illness and the crime square, says Refae, the perpetrator must remain under observation between four to six months before a verdict is delivered in his case.
“In the West there are special jails for psychiatric patients who pose a threat to their surroundings. The prison wardens are even allowed to shoot then in self-defense. In countries that lack such jails, these murderers, will be executed if they can’t be cured with medication.
