Crime under Hypnosis

[joules99]

I am rather sceptical when it comes to hypnosis, however I have been thinking if there was a hypnotist with a criminal mentality could they hypnotise someone to commit a crime for them, an extreme example, murder. Historically, in legal history has this ever been proven to happened (if it has, would anyone be able to prove it?) and if so, has the hypnotised murderer been completley vindicated?

[Chillum]

He would have been. If it hadn't been for those pesky kids.

[Hgrove]

I have had some hypnotherapy sessions and I have enrolled in a self-hypnosis course (which unfortunately does not start until 7 June) but basically, I agree with In A Pickle:  they cannot hypnotise you to do something that your conscience rebels against.  Hypnosis is not about making people hop like cangaroos or other showbiz antics.  It is about learning to relax and send messages to your mind, most likely like "I will not lose my cool next time a jerk overtakes me" or "I will say no next time someone offers me a drink/ciggie" etc.  I do not believe it is possible to hypnotise someone do murder someone else;  but if it were, I suppose you would have the defence of insanity which would mean you would be detained in a mental hospital at HM's leisure. (Well there are also supervision orders or such like nowadays).

[Hgrove]

Actually I think the defence would be automatism but I'm not sure!

[Miss Zippy]

As Hgrove says a defence of automatism (which is basically the total absence of voluntary control on the part of the defendant and has been used as a defence in a handful of 'sleepwalking' murder cases) could potentially be used but only if the defendant did not consent to being hypnotised. If the defendant is in any way responsible for the situation that gave rise to the state of automatism, it cannot be used as a defence.

[Marvin84]

...and since you cannot be hypnotised without your consent, then there's no real problem....

ps Hgrove - do you mean Kangaroos?? :-)

[Dulcinea]

Yeah!  I saw this on an episode of "Spider-man" a few years back.