engleski

To be or not to be criminally responsible

Background and aims.–In Croatia in cases when a person is not able to stand trial for the reason of mental disorder and was not yet assessed as not-guilty-for the reason of insanity, the court has to wait until the person becomes able to stand trial again, before continuing the trial. Our aim was to discuss a possibility of developing a psychotic mental disorder after committing a crime and not being able to stand trial. Methods.– We present a case report with relevant clinical data. Results.– A 25-year old man, with no history of mental disorder prior to the offence committed a violent crime – murder of his girlfriend. Soon after the event he started talking about a friend of his who travels around the world and kills people and who was the murderer of his girlfriend. All data were taken from a video game Grand Theft Auto. There was a lack of appropriate affect, along with the periods when he was not able to verbalize his thoughts. He was diagnosed with Munchausen’s syndrome (dissociative disorder) of a psychotic level. He shielded himself from the painful truth by developing dissociative symptoms. In his current state he was assessed as not able to participate at the court. Conclusions.– Developing symptoms of a psychiatric disorder in traumatic situations can have the effect of protecting a person from painful emotions, but in a forensic situation can protect a person from being able to stand trial. Disclosure of interest.– The authors have not supplied a conflict of interest statement.

criminal responsibility ; ability to stand trial ; forensic psychiatry ; dissociative disorder

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