30 November 2017
Individuals with mental health conditions or learning disabilities need to be better supported in the criminal justice system, legal rights group JUSTICE argues in a report published this week, Mental Health and Fair Trial. The report makes 52 recommendations, for example, appointing specialist prosecutors, introducing dedicated mental health judges, and that the ‘insanity’ defence be amended to ‘not criminally responsible by reason of a recognised medical condition’. Welcoming the report, the Lord Chief Justice Lord Burnett said he was sure it would ‘play a leading role in developing our approach to vulnerable defenders and witnesses’.
