You're probably aware of sleepwalking, sleep-eating, and even sleep sex ... but have you heard of sleep murder? That's the phenomenon behind the case of a man in Wales who killed his wife of 40 years, allegedly while asleep and dreaming that she was an intruder. Portrayed by the defense as a "devoted husband," Brian Thomas, 57, was freed by a judge who said he bore no responsibility. The couple was on vacation in a camper park when their sleep was interrupted by younger vacationers who were racing vehicles in the lot.
Thomas claimed that, even after relocating their camper, he dreamed that he was fighting one of the men from the lot, and woke up to realize it was actually his wife.
His daughters testified that they've seen their father sleepwalk and act strangely in the past. Yet, somehow, a psychiatrist for the prosecution said he was not a threat and should be released.
If this sets a precedent that one can not be held accountable for their actions while asleep, we may start having dreams that we're super-rich and rob a few banks at 3 in the morning.
Tell us: Should a person be held responsible for his or her actions while asleep?
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Wednesday 25 November
By kjsfhskdjfhsdkj
w w w . e b u s y b i z . c o m
have some cheap things ...
ni ke sh oes, fa shion c lothes ;br and hand bags ,wal let ...
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Monday 30 November
By Claire
This is really disappointing work. If a sleep disorder is behind this, it didn't "help him get away with murder"--it caused a horrible event that has ruined his life and probably left him wracked with guilt and pain. These disorders are real, and they can be absolute hell for the sufferers, some of whom live in fear of hurting people while unconscious and go through extensive measures to restrain themselves while sleeping.
And this:
His daughters testified that they've seen their father sleepwalk and act strangely in the past. Yet, somehow, a psychiatrist for the prosecution said he was not a threat and should be released.
just doesn't make sense to me. Those aren't contradictory. The whole point is that he sleepwalks and acts strangely--that is the reason he is not at fault for the murder and shouldn't be convicted.
If this defense is a lie, it's a sickening one. But don't be ignorant and flippant about the realities of psychology for cheap shock value.
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Friday 11 December
By Lcfl
I have sever sleep apnea and my spousedoes notice if the pressue is low on my machine I get vivid dream and had epsoides of falling out of bed tor run from what is occuring , fx size of hand during a dream someone was hurting my child , and hitting my spouse not on meanig to. Soo now we put a body pillow so i do not hit in the middle oft the night. i read if you have sleep apnea
during rem sleep thiscan occur.
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Monday 14 December
By Luci
My partenr sleepwalks and is violent too. He has hit me and thrown me to the ground and even bitten me on one occasion. If the worst happened as in the above case, he would be the real victim. He IS asleep and knows nothing of the attacks when he wakes up. This is a tragic and complex problem. I feel your article trivialises this and demonises the sleepwalker. You don't blame people who have heart attacks while driving for murder, do you?
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