Psyber wrote:The defence is arguing that since he gave up his medication and got on to booze and Marijuana in Qld his mental state deteriorated and he was not responsible at the time of the alleged offence.
This is veering rapidly off topic and probably should leap over to the "Things that give you the sh1ts" thread, but what the heck...
In a perfect world the argument "I was all boozed/doped up" would be an admission of responsibility, since it is ultimately a matter of choice to get boozed/doped up in the first place and one must therefore accept the consequences of voluntarily entering into this state. Any defence shyster who would attempt to argue diminished responsibility from this would be fair game to be dragged outside the courtroom and given a solid kicking. For bonus irony, the persons designated to administer the kicking should each be made to drink a beer first.
Sadly the world in which we live is far from perfect. Should I ever succeed in my fanciful ambition to become dictator of this fine country, I shall make it my second act to enshrine the above paragraph in law. Right after I standardise the beer glass sizes across the nation.